New study shows who pays what to live where

If you’re a family of four in Solano County, you need about $7,500 per month, or nearly $90,000 annually, to live halfway decently, a new report shows. That same family in Napa County needs about $103,000 annually or nearly $9,000 per month to maintain that same modest lifestyle, it shows.

The Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator measures the income a family needs to attain a “modest yet adequate” standard of living, Institute officials said.

The budgets estimate community-specific costs for 10 family types (one or two adults with zero to four children) in all counties and metro areas in the United States. It offers a more accurate measure of economic security in the U.S. than the federal poverty line and the Supplemental Poverty Measure, they said.

“Among the 58 counties in California, Solano County has the 20th highest cost of living. But median family income here is the 16th highest, so when cost of living is calculated relative to median income, the county ranks 53rd (least affordable),” said the EPI’S Kayla Blado.

Napa County has the 12th highest cost of living, but the 11th highest median family income, so, the county ranks 46th (least affordable), she said.

“So, out of 58 counties, Solano is the sixth most affordable, she said. “Napa would be the 13th most affordable, then.”

EPI is an independent, nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the United States, to help policy makers, opinion leaders, advocates, journalists, and the public “understand the bread-and-butter issues affecting ordinary Americans, according to the organization’s material.

“Basically, it is a tool for policy makers to see how much it realistically costs to have a modest yet adequate standard of living,” Blado said. “Policies like raising the minimum wage, offering child care subsidies, and investing in public infrastructure could allow it to be more affordable to live in.”

The recent EPI update to its Family Budget Calculator, considers geographic differences in cost of living, and factors in a broader range of expenses — including housing, food, transportation, child care, health care, and other basic necessities, officials said. It contains detailed local-level estimates on costs, where only state or national data were previously available.

To keep the budgets modest, the calculator does not include middleclass lifestyle-type expenses, like paying off student loans or saving for college or retirement, they said.

“Our Family Budget Calculator goes beyond traditional measures like the poverty line to paint a detailed picture of what families need to get by,” EPI Senior Economist Elise Gould said. “The latest update provides even greater detail on how costs vary throughout the country. It is, above all else, a tool for policy makers to advocate for ways to raise wages and make their communities more affordable.”

For example, of the country’s top 25 largest metros, the Los Angeles area has the 12th highest costs ($92,295) for a two-parent, two-child household and the lowest median family income, making it the 3rd “least affordable.”

The Oakland-fremont metro has the third highest costs ($123,310) and the fourth highest median family income, ranking it the 8th “least affordable” area.

The report found that a Solano County family of four spends some $1,341 per month on housing, $782 on food, $1,148 on child care and $1,258 on transportation. It found that health care costs that family about $1,114, taxes run it about $954 and other necessities set it back $856.

In Napa County, that same family needs $1,575 for housing, $982 for food, and $1,222 for childcare. Transportation runs them about $1,369, health care, $1,114, taxes more than $1,270 and other necessities more than $1,000.

“It’s clear from our analysis that, even in less-expensive areas, many families will struggle to meet their basic needs,” research assistant Zane Mokhiber said. “The good news is we have many different ways to remedy this, from a higher minimum wage to ambitious child care reform. Policy makers should draw on a range of tools to help people meet the needs laid out in the Family Budget Calculator.”

Even after adjusting for higher state and city minimum wages, there is nowhere in the country where a minimum-wage worker – even a single adult without children – earns enough to meet the requirements of their local family budget, Institute officials said.

For the entire report, see http://www.epi.org/ resources/budget/.