It depends on where in the Bay Area you want to live, what you consider a "good" house, and the size and makeup of your family, if you have one. A few bits of

It depends on where in the Bay Area you want to live, what you consider a "good" house, and the size and makeup of your family, if you have one. A few bits of anecdotal evidence for San Francisco, 2013 prices that I've seen firsthand. In many desirable neighborhoods renting an entire house will start well above $5K/month. In those same neighborhoods a nice two bedroom apartment will be over $4K. Full-time child care for a toddler might at absolute minimum cost $1K/month (a licensed, shared private home) but much more likely will cost $2K or more (a day care center, if you can get into one, or a shared nanny). There are of course plenty of ways to live well within $100K / year here, but probably not with a family in a rented house in many San Francisco neighborhoods.