Jan 30, 2025 - News
Stat du jour: The income you need to live comfortably in NC
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A "very modest living" for a North Carolina family of four is less than $98,000 annually, according to the North Carolina Budget & Tax Center's 2025 Living Income Standard, released earlier this month.
By the numbers: One adult would need $42,190 annually — or an hourly wage of $20.30 — to make ends meet "with little financial cushion against emergencies like the loss of a job or an illness," the center said.
- Adults in Wake County, by contrast, need far more, at $49,740 — or $23.90 an hour.
- A family of four would need a household income of just over $111,000 in Wake County.
The intrigue: The minimum wage in North Carolina is just $7.25 — a rate that has been unchanged since 2009.
- In Halifax County the minimum wage needed to live comfortably is just about double that, at $14.70, making it the most affordable place to live in North Carolina.
Zoom out: The highest cost of living is in Union County, where the annual income needed for a family of four is $112,620.
- Chatham County is the second highest, at $111,100, and Wake and Orange are tied for third place, at $111,040.