That's going to be very location dependent... mostly in the form of rent and utilities. Larger cities will have much higher rent rates than sleepy college towns

That's going to be very location dependent... mostly in the form of rent and utilities. Larger cities will have much higher rent rates than sleepy college towns. New York City, for instance, would roughly triple your rent budget. Most places in the US, you would be able to live on that budget, provided you could find public transportation. That's not as easy to do everywhere either. If you're looking at a fairly small locality, meaning your daily commute distance is only a few miles, you may want to look at a motorized bicycle. They are easy to keep in a small apartment, offer a higher degree of freedom than public transit, and are about comparable in total travel time.