How do those people that earn around $30000 live the life?

29 comments

1. That salary is a liveable wage in some parts of the country.

   Setting that aside, shared housing with roommates, a partner that also works, etc. Lots of ways to make it work, but it would be pretty tight for a single income family.

   Edit: the median individual income in the US is less than 45k/yr as of 2022. So obviously people are making do with less than that. (2nd edit with more accurate info). Only 8% of people make in the 30k range, but they do exist. Most make more

   https://www.zippia.com/advice/average-american-income/#:~:text=That%20said%2C%20the%20average%20personal,the%20median%20income%20is%20%2444%2C225.

2. Many of those people don’t live alone. My wife falls into the under $10k a year group but that’s because she is going to school and I make over $100k so it’s not as big of a deal.

   Don’t assume everyone on the low end of the income spectrum is living alone. Also those that are, live in very low cost of living areas.

3. That salary is double the official poverty line for an individual, and is well into middle class living wage for most of the US. The way you live on that amount is that you do not live in high cost of living areas, or if you do you live with roommates or a spouse. You would have issues living in a major city, but most smaller cities and virtually all suburbs and rural areas that is a pretty comfortable wage. Not opulent to any degree but comfortable.

4. * Live with roommates
   * Live with family
   * Lives with a partner

   Just having multiple incomes in a single household greatly reduces the cost of housing.

   People also might have supplementary income such as:

   * Student Loans
   * Social Security
   * Disability

   There’s also 4% of Americans living in some sort of subsidized housing.

   There’s also a large percentage of stay at home parents or those getting income under the table (odd jobs, black market, amateur small business (baked goods, art, artisan goods, etc)).

   There’s also lower cost areas of the country. Rural areas, but also cities in the rust belt/Midwest and some secondary cities all over the country (Birmingham, Springfield, Stockton).

5. Dual income households, most people making $30k aren’t living on their own.

6. I was single and living alone for a decade on a salary lower than that.

   I lived in a downtown one bedroom apartment in my city that cost $550 a month, utilities included. I had a cellphone and home internet that cost about $150 a month. I paid $90 a month for car insurance. I didn’t have any sort of health insurance, so I just never went to the doctor, dentist, or eye doctor. I spent about $100 a week on groceries, and occasionally ate out.

   That’s about it. Aside from no health insurance, it wasn’t really too bad. As long as I didn’t get sick and nothing on my car broke, I was usually fine.

7. Really depends where you live, but in urban/suburban areas they usually don’t live alone (roommates, family) or live in a car or something from my experience.

8. I made about $35K 5-6 years ago. I lived in a small city and my rent was $400/month. I obviously wasn’t wealthy but I did just fine and took at least 1 vacation a year. I make about 2.5 times as much now and live in a huge city. I’m able to save a little more but my lifestyle is pretty comparable. A lot depends on where you live.

9. Costs of living are different depending on where you are in the country, with urban areas having higher costs and rural areas being cheaper. Living on $30k a year in NYC would be a nightmare while the same is entirely doable in Alabama.

   For the first few years of my working career in Alabama, my wage was in the ballpark of $30-35k a year as an administrative clerk and was able to afford myself a 1 bedroom apartment ($750/month), covered all my bills such as power, internet, and car insurance, and a little leftover at the end of the month. Granted, I had no debt, was a single bachelor, and generally didn’t go out for dinner/entertainment much, but $30k was perfectly doable for me. Now that I’m married and own a home here, $30k single income would be rough living for sure.

10. “Supplemental income” is a thing, like a couple may have one big breadwinner and the other takes a more flexible but lower paid job.

    Some get paid a lot under the table, or only worked for part of the year, both skew the numbers.

    Some people are retirement age and don’t actually need it, they just take a low-stress low-paid job to keep busy.

    Some places $30k is actually ok.

11. I’m sure it includes part time workers, semi-retired workers, etc to skew the results a bit. There’s always a bigger story that isn’t captured in the stats.

    For people that do earn very low wages, multigenerational households are pretty common.

12. First, note that the data from the BLS includes people who are not living off that income (such as teenagers or college students making supplemental income, or people who have retired), or who pool income with a spouse who is also working.

    So the more interesting number is the [median household income](https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2022/comm/median-household-income.html), which in September of 2022 was $70,784/year.

    (As often as not, that’s a two-income family, where both spouses work.)

    Note too that varies [widely from state to state.](https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/average-family-income) For example, in D.C., the average family household income is around $173,000/year. (The second page uses slightly different income statistic sources than the Census Bureau in the first link.)

    Note that the cost of living widely varies from state to state.

    In D.C., that $173k/year may only get you a two-bedroom apartment, while in West Virginia, you may be able to buy a modest house with your $73k/year.

13. I have lived on this amount many times.

    I lived with a roommate, when I wanted to travel, I took the bus, my “nice meal out” was a couple of $1.50 samosas or $2 tacos and pupusas.

    It’s less that you can’t live on that money. It’s more that, if you make that money, and you have any unexpected expenses you’re fucked. If I had had a car accident, I wouldn’t have been able to fix my car, and if I had had a health emergency, I would have gotten into crippling debt.

14. My BIL, 32 years old, probably only makes around 30K. He still lives at home.

15. Honestly the single biggest cost for most Americans by far is housing. If you can live at a discounted price by sharing your housing with friends/roommates, or better yet live for free with family, you can survive on significantly less and even have the possibility of a comfortable life depending on the specific situation.

    A good example is how I went from living in a 1 bedroom apartment in downtown Dallas to a house with my wife in one of its suburbs without paying really anything more thanks to splitting the cost of the house with her.

16. Here’s what my life looked like when I was making $30k

    Rent under $1k. I would rent a room in a house as opposed to apartments.

    Debt – ~$500 (student loans + car payment).

    Bills – Most bills were covered by rent. I always used a MVNO for cell phones.

    Groceries – I would typically make meals as often as I could. Fairly simple stuff that’s cheap to make. Lot’s of Potatoes and carrots. Tacos, stir fry or pasta were also staples.

    Work Lunches – I would usually eat at the work cafeteria which had subsidized lunch for nearly cheaper than I could make stuff on my own (around $5).

    Entertainment I tried to stick to stuff that didn’t cost anything. Lots of hanging out, video games, board games, and stuff like that. Maybe hit up a bar on the weekends.

17. A $30,000 salary will look different in different parts of the country. Our cost of living varies widely based on where you live and whether you live in a rural or urban area. For example, in Missouri the average wage in St. Louis county is $72,000 per year. In Taney county it is half that. But the cost of living overall in Taney county is much lower.

18. I’m living on just over 30k at 34k before taxes. Honestly I just don’t get much beyond what I need. It’s myself and my cat. Between rent, insurance and utilities my first month’s paycheck goes towards that. The rest is spent on groceries gas and medical expenses. Beyond that I might occasionally get something I want for under 30$ or go out to eat once a quarter. But beyond that I don’t spend much excess. It’s still tight but doable

19. It really depends on where you live. My house in Alabama is in a decent neighborhood but only cost $120k. My mortgage is less than $500/mo. The same house in Nashville or Atlanta would be 3-4x that.

20. Before I went to nursing school, my top salary was 21,000 a year. (Animal care/zookeeper)

    After graduation I made 40k+ and had insurance at the same time, for the first time in my life. That was about 2018.

    I got married in 2007, which put us at 50k a year as a couple, and made nursing school feasible.

    Before that? Roommates, I worked jobs that included accomodations, we’d eat the expired food grocery stores donated for the animals. A bunch of us would chip in on the processing fee and share deer during hunting season. Drove beaters.

    I was also extremely lucky that my extended family is solidly middle class and could help with loans when emergencies came up. That is what kept me from accumulating a bunch of debt, or putting off needed healthcare.

    That’s why generational wealth matters.

21. In the same way that people in other countries do. $30k USD for an individual is higher than the individual income for most developed nations. Since most households see both spouses work, it means that if your spouse makes $20k your household income is $50k, which is below average for america but still middle class.

22. In 2022 I made $31k after taxes. I own two cars and a condo.

    Here’s how I survive: parents. I am 36 and still cannot pay all of my own bills. My parents took a line of credit on their house to buy the condo I live in. We paid $80k back in 2010 and now it’s worth double. Both of my cars were bought used. One is 14 years old and 130k miles, the other is 9 years old and 110k miles. I’ve had the 14 year old one since 2014, and the 9 year old one since 2018. Again, parents helped to sign loan docs and down payments.

    My property taxes are over $3,000 a year on 1100 sq feet, no garage, no driveway, just a parking lot and no amenities (no pool, no rec center, etc). I also have association fees nearly $300 per month for my condo. I pay my water and electricity as well as my insurance, but my parents help with cable/internet and my cell phone.

    How do I make it work? I buy very few things new. I’ve been limping along the appliances that came with my condo (fridge, washer, dryer), replaced the heat pump/AC only when it stopped working entirely, and haven’t replaced the broken garbage disposal, dish washer, or any of the 40 year old windows that don’t even close right.

    In addition, my parents bought me some furniture when I moved in, and gave me some old furniture they no longer use. I haven’t updated any of that in 13 years.

    I don’t go on vacation or buy luxury or designer brands. If I do, I buy them used. Jeans and underwear are the only things I don’t buy used (used underwear is gross and few people wear my jeans size). I have expensive hobbies, but I don’t regularly buy things for them.

    Most importantly, in a world built on credit and debt, I am very much against these systems. I use my debit card all the time as I am fine being cashless, but if I don’t have the cash in my account, I don’t buy the item or pay the bill. I refuse to become another victim of predatory lending and all that.

23. This is going to be unpopular… but the way someone uses their money has huge effects. A five dollar coffee everyday is $130 per month. That can be the difference between making rent and not making rent.

24. 1- have roommates

    2- may be retired looking for an extra paycheck

    3- have a spouse/partner to help finances

    4- struggling hard

    5- have another job

    6- just starting out with higher earning potential

    7- live in a low COL area where 30k actually is a livable wage

25. Honestly wealthy parents. They don’t fully support me but if I have a large car repair or something they can pay it and randomly get me groceries. My MIL takes us to costoc like once every month or so. My dad puts $20 on my laundry card when I go out to lunch with him once a week. He also doesn’t question when I say I need pads or tampons even if I don’t and just need $20, I feel bad about that.

26. In NYC where I live a lot of people on that sort of income either live with family, have 2+ roommates, or in a rent controlled apartment. If you go out far enough some landlords will also take rent subsidies.

    In the Bay Area (and LA during my brief sojurn) most people in that situation that I knew lived with tons of roommates. There were old-timers who had rent controlled apartments. People generally drive total beater cars or relied on other means if they set stuff up right. Family assistance with certain expenses is extensive as well.

    Keep in mind these are the two most expensive areas of the country so it’s a lot easier to survive on that type of income in other areas.

27. I made 28k (eventually 32k) working at an animal shelter for 4 years in SoCal. It was brutally stressful, always worrying about rent. Got a nice room for 700 a couple miles from the beach tho

    After the pandemic settled down, the condo was renovated and they wanted 1000 for a tiny room, couldn’t do it.

    Started living out of my car and once rent wasn’t a factor, I was living great! Was able to save a bunch of money, move to part time, and at one point I was working 24 hrs a week and living a 2 min walk from the beach

    30k a year, even in SoCal, is doable. Just need to change your lifestyle a bit

28. When my wife and I were first living together in 2009 we made the equivalent. We lived in an inexpensive area. Made sacrifices. I worked every minute of overtime I could. She worked part time while getting her masters. At the time it didn’t seem hard. We just made do and didn’t do expensive things. Every year we did better and life got more expensive. It’s not hard to live within a budget as long as you have reasonable expenses. We never would have survived in a trendy area. Honestly we were probably better off then than when we moved to Seattle a few years later and made 4-5x as much lol

29. I live in Alabama. It’s tight but doable. I have my child 50% of the time, I get a small amount of child support that helps pay my mortgage (due to our income being so far apart, and me being a sahm at the time of divorce).

    I am in debt up to my ears, but it’s manageable and I have a good credit score. I don’t eat a lot, so most of my grocery costs go to when I have my child. I make “too much” for public assistance.

    I work very close to home, and don’t do a whole lot of unnecessary stuff. I work overtime when I can.

    As long as nothing too terrible happens, I’m alright. Like, I always feel the anxiety of the water rising, but I’m not completely underwater. I just keep pushing ahead.

    I struggle to maintain hope and a positive outlook. But…as long as I make enough to pay the mortgage, everything else is just extra.