A family of four in Tulsa needs more than $200,000 each year to live comfortably, according to a new study by the travel publication Upgraded Points. Yet the median family income is less than half that, sitting at about $90,000.
That $90,000 mark is also the estimated income for single adults to live comfortably in Tulsa. Again, the median income is less than half that, at $43,000.
Still, Tulsa ranks the seventh-lowest cost of living among 53 of the nation’s large metro areas, the study found.
Researchers at Upgraded Points used data from the Economic Policy Institute and the U.S. Census Bureau to estimate the comfortable living wage for single adults, two-adult households without children and two-adult households with between one and three children.
- Single-adult households: $90,489
- Two-adult households without children: $120,898
- Two-adult households with one child: $172,775
- Two-adult households with two children: $205,280
- Two-adult households with three children: $243,586
The study applied the 50/30/20 budgeting rule to cost of living estimates using the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator. This rule sets 50% of income for needs, 30% of income for wants and 20% of income for savings.
The cost of living estimates look at expenses for necessities like housing, food, child care, transportation, health care and taxes.
Find the whole study here.
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