Don’t Worry, New York City is Only the Second Most Expensive Place to Raise a Family
The oft spoken refrain about New York best serving childless young people is as true as the summer air is muggy, as a new report via the Economic Policy Institute could compel young New York families to skip town in favor of the radiant pastures of Toledo, Ohio. While the general outlay of living in New York is reflected constantly in what you hear, read and experience daily, the EPI’s report highlights the relative affordability of basically everywhere else in the country.
From the Wall Street Journal comes a grand realization for young parents: your money expands the second you exit the five boroughs. The EPI examined the the cost of various family essentials across the US, such as housing, food, childcare, transportation, healthcare, taxes, and various other expenses, and frankly, the bible belt doesn’t sound so unappealing anymore.
If you live in New York City, the cost of cleaning, feeding, medicating, and getting your children to school will run you upwards of $98, 722 a year. Compare that with the cost of child-rearing in cities like Morristown, Tennessee ($49,114), and you’re left with an additional $49,608 to eventually send your child to Harvard.
EPI economist Elise Gould told the Journal that the findings might be slightly misleading, only because they don’t account for the stark wage disparity between places like New York and small rural communities like Morristown. “Everyone thinks it really cheap to live in Mississippi or Louisiana, but it’s not cheap anywhere if you have a very low-wage job,” she said. Currently, New York City fast food workers enjoy a recently raised $15/hour minimum wage.
The EPI tabulates their findings with a budget calculator, a tool in which inputting your zip code automatically generates the projected cost of living in your city. It’s an easy way to discourage families who don’t have a vaulted fortune somewhere ensuring their inimitable place among the nation’s one percent.
But don’t despair, because Washington DC beat out New York. Families in the nation’s capital rack up a tab that breaches the six figure mark, tallying a grand total of $106, 493 annually. So take that one, diplomats.
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