3 ms·

15 USD per hour is 30k per year. A room in NYC can be found for about $1000 per month which leaves around $1.5k per month for other expenses. It's perfectly po

15 USD per hour is 30k per year. A room in NYC can be found for about $1000 per month which leaves around $1.5k per month for other expenses. It's perfectly possible to survive in NYC on $1.5k a month.

mistersquid 8y ago
You forgot about taxes. 33% tax on 30K leaves about 20.1K leftover which, after 1K rent, comes to $675 per month, less health insurance, utilities, transportation costs, etc. $15 per hour is barely livable in NYC with 1K rent per month.
- jefftk 8y ago
  Why are you figuring 33% on $30? Standard deduction is $12k, then it's 10-12% federal tax on the rest. A bit for state tax, sure, but it's going to be well less than 33%. (Still hard to make ends meet on $30k, not disagreeing there.)
- GoatOfAplomb 8y ago
  I don't expect someone with a 30k salary to pay anywhere near 33% tax. Federal: 12k standard deduction for an individual, looks like $1969 in taxes on the remaining. New York State: 8k standard deduction, roughly $1100 tax on the rest (eyeballing it). FICA: 7.65% tax on 30k is 2295. $1050 per month after rent instead of $675. Not saying it's comfortable... in fact I think I'd still agree with your "barely livable" description.
- yardie 8y ago
  The only way anyone is seeing a total tax rate of 33% is if they are making over $90k. And with typical deductions I would triple that.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > 33% tax on 30K Federal payroll and income tax on that is about 15% total; state and local shouldn't more than double that.
dragonwriter 8y ago
You seem to have ignored taxes.
- AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
  My bad, I looked at the wrong tax table and assumed the tax will be negligible. The correct number (~$1000 per month) has already been mentioned above. I still claim it is sufficient to survive in the city.
rickyc091 8y ago
As someone who was born into a low-income family, it's definitely livable. Is it do-able for everyone? Definitely, not. It really depends on how your family spends your money. Luckily for me, my mother happened to be an accountant so we had no trouble with our finances and budgeting. When you're making minimum wage, you're actually afforded other benefits. The kids get to eat school lunch for free and we also get free transportation. This goes all the way throughout high school. That's a lot of savings over time! On top of that, colleges offer financial aid packages that reduce the cost of college significantly. In fact, some colleges will even go as far as to give you money for going to their college. We rarely if ever went to eat out, all our meals were homecooked. Snacks, candy, soda were rare in our house. We didn't have cable tv, just broadcast TV. We had a home with heat and air conditioning, but we were very frugal with turning it on. We didn't waste electricity if we didn't have to; if no one was in the room, don't turn on the lights. Don't leave the fan or TV on if no one was using it, etc. Despite being in the low-income bracket, we still went on an annual vacation once a year. We would join those tour buses and visit other states. The rest of the money went toward education.

mistersquid 8y ago

You forgot about taxes. 33% tax on 30K leaves about 20.1K leftover which, after 1K rent, comes to $675 per month, less health insurance, utilities, transportation costs, etc. $15 per hour is barely livable in NYC with 1K rent per month.

jefftk 8y ago
Why are you figuring 33% on $30? Standard deduction is $12k, then it's 10-12% federal tax on the rest. A bit for state tax, sure, but it's going to be well less than 33%. (Still hard to make ends meet on $30k, not disagreeing there.)
GoatOfAplomb 8y ago
I don't expect someone with a 30k salary to pay anywhere near 33% tax. Federal: 12k standard deduction for an individual, looks like $1969 in taxes on the remaining. New York State: 8k standard deduction, roughly $1100 tax on the rest (eyeballing it). FICA: 7.65% tax on 30k is 2295. $1050 per month after rent instead of $675. Not saying it's comfortable... in fact I think I'd still agree with your "barely livable" description.
yardie 8y ago
The only way anyone is seeing a total tax rate of 33% is if they are making over $90k. And with typical deductions I would triple that.
dragonwriter 8y ago
> 33% tax on 30K Federal payroll and income tax on that is about 15% total; state and local shouldn't more than double that.

dragonwriter 8y ago

You seem to have ignored taxes.

AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
My bad, I looked at the wrong tax table and assumed the tax will be negligible. The correct number (~$1000 per month) has already been mentioned above. I still claim it is sufficient to survive in the city.

rickyc091 8y ago

As someone who was born into a low-income family, it's definitely livable. Is it do-able for everyone? Definitely, not. It really depends on how your family spends your money. Luckily for me, my mother happened to be an accountant so we had no trouble with our finances and budgeting. When you're making minimum wage, you're actually afforded other benefits. The kids get to eat school lunch for free and we also get free transportation. This goes all the way throughout high school. That's a lot of savings over time! On top of that, colleges offer financial aid packages that reduce the cost of college significantly. In fact, some colleges will even go as far as to give you money for going to their college. We rarely if ever went to eat out, all our meals were homecooked. Snacks, candy, soda were rare in our house. We didn't have cable tv, just broadcast TV. We had a home with heat and air conditioning, but we were very frugal with turning it on. We didn't waste electricity if we didn't have to; if no one was in the room, don't turn on the lights. Don't leave the fan or TV on if no one was using it, etc. Despite being in the low-income bracket, we still went on an annual vacation once a year. We would join those tour buses and visit other states. The rest of the money went toward education.