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You must earn this much to live comfortably in PA, NJ and Delaware in 2026: report

By
FOX 29 Philadelphia
Pennsylvania
Published August 18, 2026 10:45 AM EDT
Published August 18, 2026 10:45 AM EDT
article

The Brief

    • Achieving a comfortable lifestyle for a family of four now requires a pre-tax income exceeding $200,000 in 40 states.
    • In Pennsylvania, a family of four needs to make at least $247,936 to sustain a comfortable lifestyle this year. Those costs rise in New Jersey and decline in Delaware.
    • Massachusetts is the most expensive state for a family to live in comfortably, while Mississippi is the most affordable.

PENNSYLVANIA - Comfort is expensive! The price of the American dream has officially crossed the $200,000 threshold for a family of four in 40 states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

By the numbers:

As rising costs of housing, groceries, and essentials continue to reshape household budgets, a recent study reveals what it takes to cover your needs, pad your savings and still have enough left over to enjoy life in 2026. 

In Pennsylvania, a family of four needs to make at least $247,936 to sustain a comfortable lifestyle this year. Meanwhile, the salary for a single adult must be $97,011.

Those costs rise in New Jersey, where the needed salary for a single adult is the fifth highest in the US at $113, 776, and a family of four needs to earn $295, 110 to live comfortably.

Delaware requires the lowest salary in the region for a family of four: $228,134. However, it falls in the middle when it comes to the income needed for single adults: $98.966.

Big picture view:

The most expensive states to live in comfortably are Massachusetts and Hawaii. The income requirement for a family of four in Massachusetts is $329,555 and $129,002 for a single adult in Hawaii.

Mississippi and West Virginia are the least expensive states to live in comfortably. A family of four needs a salary of $187,533 in Mississippi, while a single adult must make $81,245 in West Virginia.

Dig deeper:

To determine the comfortable living wage for each state, the study based estimates on the baseline living wage for each state and adjusted it to reflect a comfortable lifestyle using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule. 

This rule divides income into three categories: 50% for basic needs like housing and utilities, 30% for discretionary wants and 20% for savings, investments, and emergency funds. The resulting numbers reflect the total annual, pre-tax salary a worker needs to live comfortably in every state.

The Source: Information from this article was sourced from SmartAsset.

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