The American people face an upward struggle of record-high gas prices, soaring inflation, and increased consumer costs during the Biden Administration.
Which states are feeling the biggest impact of the tumultuous economic conditions?
Careers board Lensa produced a new study this week laying out the least and most affordable states to live in in the United States.
The study analyzed “the affordability gap in states around the US, comparing the cost of living to the average wage to reveal the percentage difference.”
To draw its conclusions, the study reviewed:
- Grocery costs
- Housing prices
- Utility costs
- Transportation costs
Americans living in Hawaii face the highest cost of living, according to the study’s results.
“Hawaii was the least affordable state in the US with the national average wage being a whopping 20.32% less than the average cost of living. Hawaii also had one of the highest housing spends in the study, spending $13,864 on housing.”
Oregon was ranked the 2nd least affordable state in the US.
New Study Finds Hawaii, Oregon, Among Least Affordable States To Live In #lensa #tylerdurdenfri #40newstudyfindshawaii #fintwit https://t.co/YSPmc56Vjc
— BizToc News (@biztocnews) June 25, 2022
This chart lists the top 15 least affordable states in the US.
Zero Hedge shared other findings from the study:
As far as the most affordable places to live, the study found: “Virginia was named the most affordable state in the US with the national average wage being a whopping 49.64% higher than the average cost of living. Virginia also had one of the lowest transportation costs, spending $8,716 per year on transport.”
Illinois followed closely behind, with the national wage being 44.8% higher than the average cost of living, the study said. Texas came in third.
- California and New York are also featured in the least affordable states. California’s national wage was only 4.38% higher than the average cost of living. New York’s national average wage was only 8.54% higher than the average cost of living.
The top three most affordable states all had a 40% difference between the national average wage and the cost of living, whilst the others also had a 30% difference between the national average wage and the cost of living.
Read the full study HERE.
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!