How much do you need to live out of poverty in each state? All 50 States.

Have you ever wondered what it costs to make ends  meet in your state or any state for that matter?   Well you don't have to wonder anymore because  i'm going to tell you right now what is going   on everyone welcome back to world according to  briggs today i thought we could look at how much   the living wage is in each state the fine people  at the massachusetts institute of technology   decided they would figure out the living wage  of each state the livable wage is also known as   the living wage is defined as the amount of income  determined to provide a decent standard of living   in public policy advocates define the living wage  as a minimum income necessary for a worker to meet   their basic needs basic needs include housing  food health care and other essentials a giant   television or a trip to the bahamas is not an  essential keep that in mind the purpose of the   living wage is to make sure that all full-time  workers are compensated enough to live out of   poverty every state has a different cost of living  so every state requires a different amount for a   worker to live comfortably alright let's see  where your state ended up number 50 kentucky   ah yes the bluegrass state is the cheapest state  in the nation to live yeah who saw that one coming   most people would think it's mississippi no it's  actually kentucky the fact that their biggest   employer is walmart plays into that a little bit  i'm sure because walmart's not really known for   paying people a whole bunch of money living wage  in kentucky is 43 eight dollars that's what you   need a year to get by in kentucky 49. arkansas the  natural state is naturally really inexpensive to   live i mean other than like we've said many times  the rogers fayetteville area up there springdale   every place else in the state is pretty close to  poverty if not well below it the largest employer   in the state of arkansas again walmart starting  to see a pattern here you'll need forty four   thousand five hundred seventy one dollars to live  comfortably in arkansas 48 west virginia who saw   this one coming we knew it would be towards the  bottom but i really thought it would be number   one or two i thought it would be mississippi and  then west virginia but no it was beat by kentucky   and arkansas buckle up for this one the largest  employer in west virginia is walmart imagine that   you only need forty four thousand eight  hundred and twenty three dollars a year to   live comfortably in west virginia and some of the  parts i've seen in west virginia you could live   very comfortably on that amount of money number  47 south dakota south dakota is slowly becoming   a popular state it kind of has been but not many  people pulled the trigger and actually moved there   they've got a very low cost living and they've got  a lot of wide open space the largest employer in   south dakota is avera healthcare you only need  forty five thousand four hundred and ten dollars   a year to live comfortably you know the living  wage in south dakota now i always say living wage   and live comfortably because i think they're kind  of the same and i go back and forth so forgive me   if you don't agree with me but i think if you're  living comfortably that means you have a livable   wage you're not worried about your electricity  being shut off and you're never worried really   too much about where your next meal is coming  from you got food you got electricity and you   got a roof over your head living comfortably  46 idaho this one kind of shocked me at first   i mean look how low idaho is on the food chain  here it's really cheap to live there and it's   a very popular state normally when you're a  popular state you're expensive but not idaho   they got their own thing going on you only need  forty five thousand eight hundred and one dollars   to live comfortably in idaho idaho's largest  employer is st luke's health system 45 alabama   the yellow hammer state i think should be more  expensive i mean they've got huntsville which is   known as rocket city usa because they have such a  strong tech community that's associated with nasa   and it's still a good tech thing there's  a lot of people making a lot of money   in huntsville on the tech side of things so  i thought for sure the entire state would be   getting some of that residual and they'd be  more expensive they're really not it's not   that bad to live there even though their largest  employer is walmart the living wage for alabama is   eight hundred and 45 four dollars a year 44  ohio ohio like so many other rust belt states   never fully recovered after the collapse  of the manufacturing in the united states   back in the 70s 80s and 90s i mean they lost  a lot of jobs over those decades they've never   ever really recovered i mean cities like cleveland  are just starting to come out of that type thing   and they're kind of having a rebirth after so  many years of just being a beat up place to   live the largest employer in ohio is walmart you  only need forty five thousand eight hundred and   fifty three dollars to live comfortably and get  by in ohio number 43 mississippi ah our old pal   mississippi we knew they'd be towards the bottom  i'm surprised they made it this far up mississippi   has a lot of problems and being expensive isn't  one of them it's really hard to find a place   that is expensive in mississippi really number  one employer is you guessed it walmart you only   and need 46 dollars to live comfortably in  mississippi every single year 42 missouri hey   guess what it's another walmart state imagine that  walmart is big throughout this part of the country   actually there's more states in this country  right now that walmart employs the most people   than states that don't really it's kind of sad i  mean it's good to have a job but it'd be better   if they paid a little bit more it only takes 46  159 to make ends meet in missouri every single   year number 41 south carolina south carolina is  mostly rural it's got a few expensive places like   charleston myrtle beach a few other places but  for the most part it's small towns and very rural   so those tend to be relatively inexpensive and  that helps bring down their overall cost it'll   only run you 46 568 a year to live comfortably in  south carolina and their number one employer is   walmart 40 oklahoma oklahoma is dead center in  the middle of the country right above texas and   it really doesn't cost much live there like a  lot of other states in this part of the country   they got a lot of open space when you've got a  lot open space things tend to not be expensive   like housing and things like that the number one  employer in oklahoma is microsoft who saw that one   coming i'm totally kidding i think nine people  in the whole state own computers it's actually   walmart living wage in oklahoma is forty six  thousand six hundred and thirteen dollars it's   all you need every single year 39 tennessee  the volunteer state comes in at number 39   it's pretty cheap to live here and this kind of  surprises me because you've got a couple popular   cities here like chattanooga and nashville a lot  of people been flooding there over the last decade   and they still remain relatively cheap i mean most  people save a fortune on not going to the dentist   in this state tennessee's number one employer  is walmart 38 north dakota this another one i   found strange it beats south dakota it's actually  more expensive to live in north dakota than south   dakota and south dakota to most people is a much  more appealing state i'm sure how prices shot up   when the gas and oil boom happened there that  probably screwed up the state's numbers pretty   good but you know realistically south dakota is  a more appealing state so therefore it should   be more expensive that's in theory but the number  one employer in north dakota is sanford healthcare   or sanford health whatever you want to call  it and the living wage in north dakota is 46   814 and that's what you need to live comfortably  every year number 37 indiana indiana has   a couple cities that really bring it down in a lot  of different ways and cost is one of them but in   general the state's very rural so it's relatively  inexpensive so that helps with this number the   number one employer in indiana is walmart and the  living wage is forty six thousand eight hundred   and thirty eight dollars a year 36 montana up  there near north dakota and the canadian border   you have montana and a lot of open land and not  that many people the number one employer for this   state is walmart i think that might change though  in the next handful of years because a lot of big   tech companies are looking at the billings area  and even bozeman a little bit but billings is   really starting to get the attention of some  tech companies so that might all change in the   next couple years but right now walmart is their  biggest employer and the living wage for montana   is only forty seven thousand and eighty three  dollars not bad number thirty five utah now   we're starting in the area where it's that sweet  spot you know they're decent states normally and   they're still relatively inexpensive to live there  montana was one of them indiana too probably but   now we're getting into the better states the  number one employer in utah is intermountain   healthcare and the living wage for the beehive  state is forty seven thousand nine hundred twenty   two dollars thirty four georgia georgia is still  not a terribly expensive place to live even though   it's become more and more popular i mean places  like savannah and atlanta they've all been growing   but you also got places like albany georgia that  just bring the whole place down it's relatively   inexpensive to live there and they have some  decent jobs especially around the atlanta area   with the film industry that's moved there over  the last decade or so their number one employer   is still walmart here so keep that in mind but for  a state like georgia that's become very popular   it's very inexpensive the livable wage you need  in georgia is 47 946 dollars a year 33 wyoming   i really thought wyoming was going to be cheaper  than this they don't have a lot of people there it   is kind of popular but they don't have big cities  that are bringing them down in the cost of living   or anything like that but you know they're not  the worst i just think they're more expensive   than they should have been the livable wage in  wyoming is 47 950 and the largest employer is   walmart 32 louisiana the pelican state doesn't  have a lot going for it i mean it's a beautiful   state and it's got some natural beauty to it  but i mean they got some really run down cities   and some really nasty parts if it wasn't for new  orleans and this new orleans saints probably no   one would ever show up here that doesn't already  live there if you move there you can get a job   at walmart that is their number one employer  and it's relatively inexpensive it's a little   more expensive than i think it should be because  louisiana is not that appealing but the living   wage for louisiana is 47 975 31 new mexico this  is another jaw dropper how are they not one of the   absolute cheapest places to live they don't have  jobs they have high crime it's the middle of the   freaking desert after you get past santa fe and  albuquerque parts of albuquerque i should say most   the state sucks i mean great sunsets and if you're  a desert person which i am not new mexico might be   fine the number one employer for new mexico is  the university of new mexico and the living wage   for new mexico is forty eight thousand and fifty  dollars number thirty kansas not a lot of people   go to kansas not a lot of people even think about  kansas unless you're already in kansas or one of   the neighboring states it's just not a place on  many people's radar even though they have one   of the best suburbs in the whole country which is  overland park overland park has great everything   and it's not terribly terribly expensive it's a  good place but that's one of the few places in   kansas that is really appealing for most people to  move to but it is cheap the living wage in kansas   is forty eight thousand and fifty four dollars  their number one employer is the mart of walls   walmart number 29 nebraska it is almost like  these two states are the same state kansas and   nebraska whenever i do a video that's listing  all the states they're always right next to   each other just like they are on the map nebraska  is just north of kansas and it's just like kansas   if you're from that area i'm sure there's a few  things that are different that are glaringly   obvious to you but not to most the country livable  wage in nebraska is 48 076 dollars just about the   same 25 difference here's where it gets different  though their number one employer is the university   of nebraska number 28 texas yes this is the  biggest upset of this whole thing texas is one of   the most move to states right now in the country  everyone's heading there from joe rogan elon musk   to my high school girlfriend now lives  in texas it's very popular state and it's   still relatively inexpensive i mean look they're  middle of the road right here in this whole list   so that's pretty good for a place that's desirable  to move to to live comfortably in texas you need   forty eight thousand one hundred and sixty  dollars that's it the number one employer   walmart i thought it would be some oil company  but no walmart number 27 michigan once you take   detroit and flint out of the equation this is a  really really nice state statistically speaking   i mean sure it gets cold it's still a relatively  inexpensive place to live the living wage in   michigan is forty eight thousand eight hundred and  thirty seven dollars and the number one employer   the university of michigan twenty six iowa iowa  is the poster child for flyover states they   always have been even lewis and clark took a hard  pass on the hawkeye state and went to the left   the good news is these days it's very inexpensive  the main employer here is the university of iowa   and to live comfortably you know the living wage  here you need to make forty eight thousand eight   hundred and eighty two dollars a year to live here  comfortably to meet the living wage thing 25 north   carolina north carolina has got a lot going  for it it's still you know middle of the road   i mean charlotte's blowing up raleigh durham's  gotten really popular in the last decade or so   asheville is outstanding place to live right now  yeah they got a lot going for it and it's still   like i said relatively inexpensive the living wage  in north carolina is 49 575 and their number one   employer is the university of north carolina the  whole system not just one school 24. Pennsylvania.   Pennsylvania is a great state and people aren't  really moving there as much as they used to   they've got a lot of good places to get land and  live remote workers might do just fine here and   they're still relatively inexpensive again  in middle of the road the largest employer   in Pennsylvania is the university of Pittsburgh  medical center now keep in mind I'm just telling   you the one that employs the most there's a lot  of industries out there that you know all together   employ a lot more people I'm just giving you  this so you know the living wage in Pennsylvania   is forty-nine thousand nine hundred and fourteen  dollars a year 23. wisconsin yeah who doesn't love   wisconsin i mean it's a great state for families  especially if you can get past the cold it's a   nice place to live and like we're learning right  now it's not terribly expensive the number one   employer here is the university of wisconsin  and you need fifty one thousand one hundred   and twenty dollars to achieve the livable wage in  wisconsin 22 washington yep washington they're on   the list a little lower than i thought they'd  be i thought they'd be a little more expensive   but no i guess they're doing pretty good the  number one employer in washington is boeing   don't know how much longer that's going to be for  they've been run into some tough times let's hope   they pull it out they employ a lot of people in  washington but living wage in washington is 51 271   and it's a great state to live in 21 maine if you  don't mind the cold this is a great place to live   i've said before you got to have a little bit of  money because it gets a little expensive in maine   especially some of the nicer areas the number  one employer in maine is hanford supermarkets and   if you want to live here and achieve the livable  wage you got to come up with 51 305 dollars a year   number 20 arizona now that we're over the 50 000  mark we're starting to get into the little more   expensive places and nice places i've said it  before i'm not a desert person so i don't find   arizona appealing at all i don't like heat  and i don't like rocks and dirt like trees   grass muddy ground rain cloudy skies that's my  favorite type of weather to be in arizona does   nothing for me but a lot of people like it and a  lot of people are heading there we've learned that   in the last video a lot of californians number  one employer in arizona is our old friend walmart   and if you want to achieve the living wage  here you need to come up with 51 341 a year 19.   Oregon ah yes my current home state the beaver  state that's the only reason I moved here I figure   I gotta live in a place called the beaver state  the number one employer in Oregon is providence   health services which I know quite a few people  that work for them they got huge hospitals here   whole like compounds it's really neat I honestly  thought it would have something to do with beer   or Nike if it was Oregon being the number one  employer but no I was wrong the living wage in   Oregon is 51 900 18. Vermont the land of Bernie  sanders the number one employer in Vermont is the   university of Vermont medical center which is a  really nice place i understand I've not been there   but i know someone that uh worked as a security  guard there while he was going to college you   need 51 977 dollars to achieve the living wage in  vermont 17 minnesota yeah we already know they've   been all over the news and not for good stuff  lately and it's a great state and that's too bad   the number one employer in minnesota is the  mayo clinic and to achieve the livable wage   you need to come up with 52 115 dollars a year  16. florida this state is filled with alligators   hot humid weather retirees that look like they've  been sun-baked into leather and their number one   employer is Walmart to achieve the livable wage  in Florida you need to make 52 206 a year 15.   Illinois is a nice state Chicago is somewhat of a  nightmare in some parts i still love chicago but   you know all about it a lot of people are fleeing  Chicago but not the rest of Iowa so this means   prices are going down so they're at number 15.  they'd probably be a lot earlier on this list   if it wasn't for Chicago because that place is  crazy-expensive the number one employer is Walmart   and to achieve the livable wage you need 52 304  dollars in Illinois number 14 Nevada the silver   state is one of the states where we start kind  of getting up there on the price it didn't use   to be that way then like so many other states  californians showed up and it started getting   more and more expensive the number one employer  in nevada is the mgm resorts international and if   you want to achieve the livable wage in nevada  you need 52 698 dollars a year 13. Delaware.   Delaware's a really nice state once you get out of  wilmington most of it's rural outside of let's say   dover and Wilmington they have a couple other  smaller cities but most of this state is rural   and that helps bring down the price because all  their cities are pretty freaking expensive the   number one employer in Delaware is Christian  care health systems and if you want to achieve   the living wage in delaware you need fifty three  thousand one hundred and twelve dollars a year   number twelve rhode island it's just rhode island  not a lot going on there maybe some finance jobs   and insurance jobs in providence but for the  most part rhode island's just there and it's   small the number one employer in rhode island is  life span systems of hospitals and the living wage   there is 53 240. number 11 colorado and again  one of my favorite states like i love oregon   pennsylvania wisconsin and colorado those are  my top four favorites vermont's number five   colorado's been getting more and more expensive  over the last couple decades and right now it's   pretty up there you've got to go to the east  side of the state to really get anything cheap   and don't get me wrong there's some spots here  there but their number one employer in the entire   state of colorado is the denver international  airport that airport's huge and i could see   it employing a lot of people but i didn't  know it would be their number one to achieve   a living wage in colorado you need fifty three  thousand seven hundred ninety two dollars a year   number ten virginia virginia is where you  go when you work in dc but you can't afford   to stay in dc by the way dc isn't really a  state so i didn't include it to this it is   the absolute most expensive place to live in the  united states the arlington alexandria richmond   norfolk virginia beach all those drive up the  prices and the rest of the state well there's   some other pockets but the rest of the state is  pretty much rural and inexpensive so that keeps   it from getting crazy the number one employer  in virginia is walmart back to walmart again   and to achieve the living wage you need fifty four  thousand two hundred and sixty four dollars a year   number nine alaska alaska is expensive i mean the  land isn't crazy expensive but everything else   is because if you want groceries that's got to be  shipped there unless you're buying like salmon the   number one employer in alaska is providence health  systems just like here in oregon and to achieve   the living wage you need fifty four thousand four  hundred dollars a year number eight new hampshire   new hampshire is a pretty good state it's  pretty expensive though it's not that big   and it's just like vermont in a lot of ways  it's just a little more expensive the number   one employer in new hampshire is walmart and to  achieve the living wage you need to make 55 103   a year new jersey my mom always used to say if  you don't have anything nice to say don't say   anything at all so i'm just going to tell you  the numbers on this one the number one employer   in new jersey is wake fern food corporation and  to achieve the living wage you need to make 56   109 a year number six california ah the golden  state it's more like the tarnished golden state   these days it's not what it used to be as far as  population goes this census will be the first time   they were under double-digit percentage points of  population gain yeah they'll be lucky if they hit   five percent this time they've had some census  where they gained 65 53 stuff like that five   percent maybe this time it's expensive and that's  why so many people are leaving the golden state   the number one employer in california is the  university of california system they got a whole   bunch of colleges universities and to achieve  the living wage here in california you need fifty   seven thousand three hundred and fifteen dollars  a year if you don't know much about california   the coastal park san francisco los angeles  san diego all that area santa barbara that   is incredibly expensive almost anywhere 10 miles  in it's painfully expensive once you get out to   the desert into the northern parts of california  it's a lot less expensive so that's why this one's   not number one it's a big state and a lot of it's  not as prosperous as the coastal area number five   maryland you never hear much about maryland you  know i mean other than baltimore and everyone   knows what a nightmare that place is but you never  hear much about the state of maryland all you hear   about is baltimore the number one employer in  maryland is johns hopkins institutions and to   achieve the living wage you need 58 178 number  four new york ah yes the empire state they're   in the same boat as california they're just losing  people they're actually doing worse as far as the   inward verse outward migration they might gain one  percent this census they probably would have lost   more if 2020 wasn't a pandemic year they actually  had a lot of people moving out tons of people had   to cancel those plans because the pandemic  the number one employer in new york state is   the state university of new york system that  sounds weird i know but that's how they word it   number three connecticut netiquette i do  i've never understood connecticut i've said   many times before and actually in the last  video connecticut's weird it's got some of the   most run-down cities and towns but at the same  time they have some of the nicest most expensive   neighborhoods and suburbs in the country it's  really weird it's like black or white there's   hardly any gray it seems like you know what i  mean i hope you know what i mean the number one   employer in connecticut is the yale new haven  health system and if you want to achieve the   living wage in connecticut you need fifty nine  thousand five hundred and two dollars number two   massachusetts yep right next door to massachusetts  they're really close to being the same state i   mean at one point i think they were actually  connecticut was part of maine i believe   anyway they have a lot of similarities and  massachusetts is just a little bit better   the number one employer in massachusetts is  partners healthcare and to achieve the living   wage in the baked bean state you need fifty  nine thousand five hundred and sixty dollars   and before we get to number one don't forget we  have another channel called on this day there is a   link down below we'd appreciate if you checked it  out and subscribe all right on to number one and   number one the only state left hawaii yep hawaii  is the most expensive state in the union it just   is that's all there is to it it's an island it's  beautiful the beaches and everything's got to be   shipped there much like alaska it's just getting  stuff there is one of the hardest things to do   so that drives up the cost of freaking everything  the number one employer in hawaii is the hormel   corporation the maker of spam i'm just kidding  it is the university of hawaii and to achieve the   living wage in hawaii you need 60 700 a year  it's expensive to live in paradise everyone all right that's today's video hope  you guys enjoyed it hope you got some   information out of it now go out have  a great day and be nice to each other

Channel: World According To Briggs

Views: 428,284

Rating: 4.8319392 out of 5

Keywords: Travel, where to live in America, Top 10, Top Ten Lists, Move to, Top 10 reasons not to, best cities to live in, worst cities to live in, world according to Briggs, United States, Ranked, Lists, Best States, Best Cities, Relocate, Maps, Living Wage, Poverty, poverty in america documentary, poverty in usa

Id: c6wtrN-vbO4

Length: 25min 8sec (1508 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 21 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/ghostsinmylungs]

And yet digging yourself out of the hole here somehow feels infinitely harder.

[u/ILARPinmygarden]

Definitely true. I just moved my family from NY. Our money stretches much further down here!

[u/quigleydude]

My son went to college in Danville. I got to know Central Kentucky well during those 4 years. Liked it a lot. Wouldn't mind buying a little spread and retiring there. You guys have a nice lifestyle in my view.

[u/shadowfourplay]

Stop telling people this. We're full, stay away.