What constitutes a comfortable wage to earn? Keep in mind that there's a difference between a living wage and a comfortable wage. An online company called smartasset.com uses a formula they call the 50/30/20 budget. 

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According to smartasset.com,
This rule suggests allocating 50% of your income to necessities, 30% to discretionary
spending, and 20% to long-term goals like retirement savings or paying off debt.
Given this definition, an individual in any given U.S. state needs about $5,844 more earnings than last year to have a comfortable, sustainable budget, while working families of four need an additional $9,360.’ 

Based on these definitions I am not earning what would be considered a comfortable wage in Washington state. I don't agree with that, I feel pretty comfortable, but apparently, they don't think I'm making enough to live comfortably.

Family and Multiethnic Diverse Friends Gathering Together at a Garden Table Dinner. Old and Young People Toasting and Clinking Glasses with Fresh Orange Juice and Celebrating an Event.
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It could be that my definition of comfort is different from theirs. 

Based on the math in this formula, here are the top five states with the lowest comfortable wage. 

Let's look at the bottom 5. 

#5, Kentucky.

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Income needed for a single adult, 2025: $83,574.40
Income needed for a four-person family, 2025: $192,940.80 

#4, North Dakota.

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Income needed for a single adult, 2025: $82,284.80
Income needed for a four-person family, 2025: $207,334.40 

#3, South Dakota.

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Income needed for a single adult, 2025: $82,160.00
Income needed for a four-person family, 2025: $197,932.80 

#2, Arkansas.

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Income needed for a single adult, 2025: $81,078.40
Income needed for a four-person family, 2025: $193,772.80 

#1, West Virginia.

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Income needed for a single adult, 2025: $80,828.80
Income needed for a four-person family, 2025: $195,353.60 

Even looking at the numbers for West Virginia, it's kind of daunting, considering what I'm pulling down on an annual basis.  

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Let's look at the top five. 

Now here's where reality really sets in. Here are the top five states where the wage needed to live comfortably is the highest. 

#5, Washington.

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Income needed for a single adult, 2025: $109,657.60
Income needed for a four-person family, 2025: $277,888.00 

#4, New York.

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Income needed for a single adult, 2025: $114,691.20
Income needed for a four-person family, 2025: $276,972.80 

#3, California.

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Income needed for a single adult, 2025: $119,475.20
Income needed for a four-person family, 2025: $287,456.00 

#2, Massachusetts.

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Income needed for a single adult, 2025: $120,140.80
Income needed for a four-person family, 2025: $313,747.20 

# 1, Hawaii.

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Income needed for a single adult, 2025: $124,467.20
Income needed for a four-person family, 2025: $294,361.60 

All these numbers and rankings are based on data from Smartasset.com and MIT Living Wage Calculator data.

I was a little surprised to find that Washington was in the Top five states where wages need to be the highest to live comfortably. I wish I could pull that kind of money down annually. 

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But I was not surprised that Hawaii was ranked #1 in that category. 

At this point I could give you some sort of philosophical BS that states, “well, living comfortably is a state of mind, it's not an amount of money”. But that's just what it is, BS. I think living comfortably is a combination of attitude and money, and if you're lucky enough to have both the attitude and the money. Then congratulations, you are living comfortably, at least in my opinion.
Washingtonians need nearly $110,000 to 'live comfortably' in 2025, report says | king5.com
Salary Needed to Live Comfortably by State– 2025 Study

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