Living wage calculator

The best US cities for entry-level jobs with livable wages

In Bakersfield, California, 100% of entry-level job ads on Indeed recently claimed to pay above the local living wage. But other cities, like Honolulu, Hawaii, aren't as livable for entry-level workers: Just 27.69% of new job posts advertise a salary in line with the city's living wage.

Calculate whether or not you're in the American middle class

In 2022, roughly 52% of US adults lived in middle-income households. This income calculator can help you determine whether or not you're one of them. Specifically, the calculator lets you enter your household income, location, and more to see where you line up in Pew's government data.

The monthly minimum wage a full-time worker receives varies around the world

In Luxembourg, for instance, the monthly minimum was roughly $2,140 as of January 2023. But in Nigeria, it was just $68 a month. Of course, the cost of living varies by country too.

In some expensive US cities, a $100K salary hardly offers a comfortable living

After tax, a $100K salary leaves you between $70K and $80K, depending on where you live. The value of what's left over varies significantly from city to city, with considerations like rent and grocery costs impacting how much money you lose.

Calculate the salary of a mother's work

While traditional parenting roles are changing, mothers do a ton of work at home, from cleaning and cooking to managing household finances. This quick calculator estimates the salary a mother (or caregiver) should receive based on number of...

In 1980, the median US household income was $21,020

In 1980, a steady middle-class job paid roughly $13,000 to $16,000 a year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That income comfortably supported a household on one paycheck. The average full-time worker today, who makes $68K per year often cannot afford to support a household without a second income.

Many states require higher direct wage amounts for tipped employees than the federal requirement

Employers of "tipped employees" are required to pay them $2.13 per hour in direct wages if that amount, combined with the tips, at least equals the federal minimum wage of $7.25. If the employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages of at least $2.13 per hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer has to make up the difference. However, this differs from state to state. This interactive map shows what tipped workers make per hour in every state.

At just over $1K, Mississippi has the lowest average weekly wage in the country

The mean weekly wage in the US is $1,459—more than a $1K difference from Washington, DC, where the average weekly wage is nearly $2.4K. Also among the highest earning states are Washington, Massachusetts, and California. Likewise, Mississippi, West Virginia, and Arkansas have the lowest weekly averages.

The income needed to raise a family by US state

This map shows the annual household income needed to raise a family of four in each US state. West Virginia is the least expensive state on the map at $82K per year. These numbers were calculated based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data which factored in how annual living expenses such as housing, transportation, and groceries differ from state to state. See the map here.

It takes an average of 14 days of work to afford a monthly mortgage in the US

This map of the US shows the number of eight-hour workdays it would take to afford a monthly mortgage payment in each state. Specifically, the calculations are based on median hourly wages in each state, as well as a 30-year mortgage, 5.8% mortgage rate, and a 6% down payment.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

The impact of knowing your coworker’s salary

In 2025, five more states enacted pay transparency laws, requiring employers to disclose salaries in job postings. The goal? Reduce wage gaps and promote fairness. But despite these laws, 42% of job listings still hide pay details.

Does minimum wage hurt workers?

Many economists traditionally believed raising the minimum wage hurt workers more than helped them. They argued that doing so would lead to job losses believing that if something is more expensive (like labor), people (like business owners) would want to buy less of it. However, recent research suggests otherwise.

Calculate creator economy platform costs

The creator economy continues to be an attractive way to earn money for many people. While many platforms exist to help creators monetize their work, each has different feature sets and pricing models. This calculator helps workers decide which platform works best for them.

A ‘rent vs. buy’ financial calculator

The New York Times built a continuously updated financial calculator to help potential homebuyers figure out which makes more sense given their individual situation: buying or renting a home. It takes into account how long someone plans to own the home for, mortgage rates, and more.

Many 'cheap' retirement destinations contain hidden costs

Considering factors outside of housing and state income tax is crucial when thinking of an inexpensive place to retire. High energy bills, grocery tax, and insurance premiums are just a few things to look out for when picking where to live.

How to calculate your net worth

Someone's net worth is the value of their assets minus their liabilities. Assets may include a home or a retirement savings account, whereas examples of liabilities include student or credit card debt.

See Silicon Valley's real estate, employment, population, and innovation statistics

As a leader in the global economy, Silicon Valley's growth is closely watched around the world. In 2025, companies in the region posted $92B in venture capital deals and created 23,000 new patents. The average wage in the region is $189K, which is much higher than the national average, but the median home price sits around $2.25M—which calls the sustainability of the region's living standards into question.

A life insurance cost calculator

The overall cost of life insurance coverage ranges widely. Factors like your term length, death benefit (the money paid out after death), health and lifestyle, and any added benefits can drastically change your monthly cost. This calculator can help you determine how much your desired coverage could run you per month.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

A living will is a legal document spelling out your medical wishes for emergency care

This legal document makes it explicit if you want medical interventions in the event of an emergency, including CPR, feeding tubes, ventilator assistance to push air into your lungs to help you breathe, and more. Talking with your doctor about this is covered by Medicare.

The world's 10 best places to live

The Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Index ranked 173 cities based on stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. The report shows an overall increase in livability scores compared to previous...

How much your blood really costs

In the US, donating plasma twice a week can earn you $400 a month. But this system only works by targeting people who need the money most. Plasma clinics are placed in low-income zip codes, and frequent donation may increase health risks.

Calculate your student loan payments

As of summer 2024, interest rates on federal student loans ranged from 6.5% for undergraduates to above 9% for loans taken out by parents (private loans can exceed 17%). The interest rate determines how quickly the amount owed grows. Use this calculator to estimate your monthly payments.

What something costs is reflective of a balance in the market determined by the amount of demand relative to the supply of goods and services

Because economies are complex systems, a wide variety of issues influence this balance—including some things generally considered to be positive, like rising wages.

How to prepare your finances for a layoff

Getting laid off is often unexpected—but that doesn't mean you can't plan for the worst, financially speaking. This article provides a few key tips on how and when to get your finances in order if you're worried about being laid off, such as looking into the cost of replacing employer-sponsored benefits like healthcare. Read more here.

Payday lenders are more highly concentrated in neighborhoods with high poverty rates

Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago shows that payday lenders in Illinois were more densely populated in zip codes with high poverty rates. The data also shows that payday lenders were more likely to cluster in zip codes where the highest percentage of residents are minorities.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Lesser-known phobias include turophobia, or the fear of cheese, and nomophobia, the fear of being without your cell phone.

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.