Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), Safeway Inc. (SWY): The States With the Highest Cost of Living

2. Hawaii
At $24.10 per hour, Hawaii’s living wage reflects the high costs of living off the U.S. mainland in a resort environment. The $7.25 federal minimum wage leaves two-earner families 40% short of covering that living wage, with construction workers being the only non-professional service-industry jobs that pay enough to meet cost needs. Given the difficulties among low-income families in getting affordable transportation off the islands to lower-cost locales, it’s even harder for Hawaiians to deal with high living expenses.

1. District of Columbia
Topping the list is not a state at all, but the District of Columbia. D.C.’s living wage sits at $24.92 per hour, but its $8.25 minimum wage leaves it a little less repressive for double-income earners, falling short of the living-wage level by 34%. With the entire district being an urban area, housing costs are generally higher, and while wages are also at generally higher levels than you’ll find elsewhere, they nevertheless make it difficult for low-income workers to cover all the expenses of living in the nation’s capital.

When wages fail to keep up with costs
Interestingly, the $12.50-per-hour minimum that D.C. proposed would just barely cover its living wage for a family of four with two minimum-wage workers. But in general, even areas that already offer premiums to the federal minimum wage don’t require enough additional wages to offset the higher costs of living. Still, with limited resources to finance moves to less expensive locales and with many urban areas having higher-paying jobs than less costly areas, low-income residents often have little choice but to make the best of a tough situation where they already are.

The article The States With the Highest Cost of Living originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Dan Caplinger.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter: @DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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