Do you pay a ‘solo premium’? Single-person households spend an extra $6,000 a year on expenses – here’s how much you need to make a living in each state
As the price of groceries remains high as interest rates skyrocket, no one feels the pressure more than the single household.
According to a 2021 survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, single people spend more than $6,168 per year than someone living in a couple.
And the difference is only widening now, as annual inflation is still above 3 percent.
But experts say single people are faring worse financially in some states. A recent GoBankingRates study found that Hawaii has the highest cost of living for people without a partner.
Individuals in the state of Aloha need $112,411 to earn what is considered “a living wage.”
Massachusetts came out as the second most expensive state, with an individual living wage of $87,909 per year.
California, New York and Alaska rounded out the top five, as single residents need $80,013, $73,226 and $71,570 respectively to make ends meet there.
That’s no surprise, since median home values are also highest in Hawaii, California, and Massachusetts, according to WorldPopulationReview.com.
By comparison, the cheapest place to live as a single person is Mississippi, where they only need $45,906 a year to make ends meet.
Then followed Oklahoma, Alabama, Kansas and Arkansas, all of which require a living wage of less than $47,500.
The fifth cheapest place was Kentucky, as residents only need $47,318 to get by.
To complete the analysis, GoBankingRates researchers used data from the 2021 Consumer Expenditure Survey for one individual by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And it calculated the cost of living using the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s 2023 Q1 Cost of Living Data Series.
Fed data shows that US credit card debt has crossed the $1 trillion mark for the first time in history
Single people struggle to enter the housing market because they depend on one income instead of two. Also, they cannot share the cost of rent, groceries, and living expenses with anyone else.
The analysis comes at a time when households are facing unprecedented financial pressures.
On top of rampant inflation, workers are facing a perfect storm of higher real estate prices and rising mortgage rates.
The average long-term mortgage is still above 7 percent and last month reached the highest point in more than twenty years.
According to data from the Atlanta Federal Reserve, this means households are facing the least affordable housing market since 2006.
In addition, US credit card debt has risen to $1 trillion for the first time in history.
The Atlanta Fed found that credit card balances increased by $45 billion in the second quarter of the year.
Experts called the amount “mind-boggling,” with figures also revealing credit card delinquencies had reached an 11-year high.