What Is a Good Income For a Family of 5

What Is a Good Income For a Family of 5 or Less in 2023

With a world crisis around the corner it is important to know if your family’s income is on the low or high scale? Are you getting enough to survive compared to others or should you try to find an extra job to get some more money into the family economy.  

In this article we are going to go through how much money a family should have and what is a good income for a family of 5 or less. 

What Is a Good Family Income?

What Is a Good Income For a Family of 5

A good family income is above the median salary in the United States of America. 

The median weekly salary for a full-time worker Is $1,070 in 2022. Women had a median weekly salary of $971 and men had a median weekly salary of $1,164 . 

But a study that came out a few years ago suggested that for well-being you should earn between $60,000 to $75,000 and that is nowhere near the median salary that was published this year. Even so, Warren Buffet said a few years ago that $105,000 is something that he could be happily living on but are people earning close to these numbers?

Let’s calculate the median salary and what is the median wage in the United States!

The Monthly Salary For Women and Men

I am putting the weekly salary into this salary calculator using the numbers we got from the 2022 studie mentioned earlier that women have a median salary of $971 and men have a median weekly salary of $1,164.

And the results are insane!

The monthly salary for a woman is $4,208 with holidays and vacation adjusted.
The monthly salary for a man is $5,044 with holidays and vacation adjusted.

But let’s convert it to a yearly salary for comparison!

The yearly salary for a woman is $50,496 with holidays and vacation adjusted.
The yearly salary for a man is $60,528 with holidays and vacation adjusted.

This is not close to the low end of the study that said you should earn between $60,000 to $75,000 for your well-being. But remember that the study mentioned above is old and even Warren buffet acknowledged that you should earn up to $100,000 a year to be able to live well.

What Is a Good Income For a Family of 2

First we need to start to calculate how much it costs for a family of 2 to live in a certain area with all kinds of different expenses. Raising a kid in one of the bigger towns in America is not something you do without paying the price for it.

I will be using LA and NY as examples in this article. The costs differ a lot depending on where in the country to live but these are good indicators of how expensive it is and what the minimum amount is that you need to earn.

So what is a good income for a family of 2 in NY and LA?

Los Angeles County, CA

Monthly cost for 2 adults and 2 children in Los Angeles. This calculation covers everything from house, food, child care and more. If we follow up these numbers with the numbers we had earlier in the article about the median salary we could live with two kids in LA.

HOUSING $2,058
FOOD $864
CHILD CARE $1,323
TRANSPORTATION $1,200
HEALTH CARE $972
OTHER NECESSITIES $1,059
TAXES $1,042
MONTHLY TOTAL $8,519
ANNUAL TOTAL $102,226

So to live in Los Angeles with two kids and to be able to have a good enough life you need to earn $102,226 a year together as a couple. This is probably nowhere near the sweat spot but gives you a good indication on what you need to have a good life.

New York, NY

This is the monthly cost for 2 adults and 2 children in New York County. What is super interesting is that there is almost a $50,000 difference between New York and Los Angeles.

HOUSING $2,404
FOOD $1,547
CHILD CARE $3,271
TRANSPORTATION $222
HEALTH CARE $1,518
OTHER NECESSITIES $1,432
TAXES $2,382
MONTHLY TOTAL $12,776
ANNUAL TOTAL $153,308

In this calculation we can see that it is much more expensive to live in New York and that you have to have a yearly income of $153,308 to be able to live there. Most of the money goes into child care and taxes.

What Is a Good Income For a Family of 3

Now let’s look into what kind of money you need to earn to be able to have a good life with a family of 3. Remember that we are using LA and NY as examples here.

So what is a good income for a family of 3 in NY and LA?

Los Angeles County, CA

Monthly cost for 2 adults and 3 children in LA.

HOUSING $2,735
FOOD $1,055
CHILD CARE $1,465
TRANSPORTATION $1,251
HEALTH CARE $1,134
OTHER NECESSITIES $1,373
TAXES $1,477
MONTHLY TOTAL $10,491
ANNUAL TOTAL $125,896

Living in Los Angeles with 3 kids is still cheaper than living with 2 kids in New York so that is kind of interesting. To be able to have a good life in LA you need to earn $125,896 a year as a couple and that is way over the median salary.

New York County, NY

So what is the monthly cost to live in NY as a couple with 3 kids? Apparently the cost goes up a lot and it is taking a lot of money out of your pockets.

HOUSING $3,042
FOOD $1,888
CHILD CARE $3,866
TRANSPORTATION $227
HEALTH CARE $1,556
OTHER NECESSITIES $1,787
TAXES $3,027
MONTHLY TOTAL $15,393
ANNUAL TOTAL $184,716

To live in New York you need to earn an astonishing $184,716 a year as a couple. Sounds like a lot of money to be fair but these calculations are based on solid living costs so this is no joke.

What Is a Good Income For a Family of 4

If we look into a family of 4 living in LA and NY I believe we will see some huge numbers.

Child care is something that keeps going up in New York but not so much in Los Angeles.

So what is a good income for a family of 4 in NY and LA?

Los Angeles County, CA

The interesting thing about LA is that it is still quite ok to have more kids and still afford to live in the area. This example is a family with 4 kids living in LA county.

HOUSING $2,735
FOOD $1,292
CHILD CARE $1,465
TRANSPORTATION $1,283
HEALTH CARE $1,297
OTHER NECESSITIES $1,459
TAXES $1,488
MONTHLY TOTAL $11,019
ANNUAL TOTAL $132,227

The cost goes up with $10-20,000 for each kid a year but it is still doable and if you want to have a huge family there are things you can cut down on to get the cost even lower than this.

New York, CA

This is a couple with 4 kids living in New York and the numbers speak for themselves.

HOUSING $3,042
FOOD $2,311
CHILD CARE $3,866
TRANSPORTATION $227
HEALTH CARE $1,593
OTHER NECESSITIES $1,940
TAXES $3,122
MONTHLY TOTAL $16,101
ANNUAL TOTAL $193,211

We are closing in and the cost is up almost $50,000 compared to 2 to 4 kids.
With these numbers you realize it is really important to look up all the costs before deciding to get a baby.

What Is a Good Income For a Family of 5

So let´s deep dive into the biggest family of this article.
What is a good income for a family of 5 and how much money do you have to earn in LA and NY to be able to live a good life with your family.

So what is a good income for a family of 5 in NY and LA?

Los Angeles County, CA

HOUSING $3,412
FOOD $1,529
CHILD CARE $1,607 
TRANSPORTATION $1,315
HEALTH CARE $1,460
OTHER NECESSITIES $1,546
TAXES $2,825
MONTHLY TOTAL $13,693
ANNUAL TOTAL $164,316

So the numbers are speaking for themself actually. It is almost as expensive as living in NY with 2 kids as there is living with 5 kids in LA. And we have to keep remembering that people usually have some kind of credit card debt and other kinds of loans.

New York, CA

This is the price for having 5 kids in New York and this should answer the question; what is a good income for a family of 5. 

HOUSING $3,680
FOOD $2,734
CHILD CARE $3,866
TRANSPORTATION $227
HEALTH CARE $1,630
OTHER NECESSITIES $2,093
TAXES $3,217
MONTHLY TOTAL $17,679
ANNUAL TOTAL $212,148

You need to earn $212,148 together with your partner to be able to raise a family of 5 in New York County in the United States of America. These numbers are a shock to me so it will be interesting to see what kind of thoughts you have on these numbers in the comments. 

FAQ

How Much Should You Make For a Family of 5?

A family of five should earn between $160,000 to $210,000. If you live in Los Angales you need around $160,000 to live and in New York you need $210,000 a year.

What Is The Ideal Income For a Family of 4?

Between $130,000 to 190,000 a year depending on where you live in the United States.

Could a Family of 5 Live Off 80 000 In Michigan?

Yes it is possible, the anual living cost in Michigan is around $100,000 for 5 people. So if you find cheap housing, cut down on transportation you could make it.

Average Income For a Family of 3?

The average income fora family of 3 is $81,644 a year.

Conclusion

This article shows that there is a huge difference between income, cost and salary depending on what state you live in. Most Americans need to think a few extra times on where they want to live when they decide to make a family and it is not something to take for granted.

Are you living in any area that is more or less expensive?
Leave a comment and tell us about it so we can compare between states.

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