No matter what stage of life you're currently at, you've probably noticed that everything is hella expensive right now.
While political commentators and financial pundits muse about whether or not there's a recession coming (or if it's already here), regular people just want to know what's going on and when can we expect things to get better.
Life has no answers or guarantees for us to that end, but we can work with the information we do have about two major factors that play into the cost of living: how much you make and how much you pay for housing.
How much you make is tracked by the minimum wage in each state, while how much you pay for housing is measured by the housing price index, which tracks data on housing prices based on the prices of single-family homes. A state's score moves up or down from the starting point of 100.
Here are the states ranked from most affordable to least based on those two factors.
1.Mississippi is a state that doesn't have minimum wage, but is subject to federal minimum wage guidelines of $7.25/hr. It scores a 66.3 on the housing price index (HPI).
2.Alabama doesn't technically have a minimum wage, but still has to abide by the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr. The HPI is a 70.1.
3.Kansas currently has its minimum wage set to $7.25/hr. The HPI is 72.6.
4.Georgia is another state where the minimum wage is $7.25/hr. The state's HPI is 74.4.
5.Oklahoma's minimum wage is also $7.25/hr. Its HPI is just a bit higher than Georgia's at 74.7.
6.Iowa's minimum wage is $7.25/hr. The HPI is 76.
7.Ohio is one of three states in the bottom 10 with a minimum wage above the federal minimum, at $10.10/hr. Its HPI is 76.5.
8.Indiana minimum wage is set at $7.25/hr. The HPI jumps up from Ohio's to 78.3.
9.West Virginia's minimum wage is $8.75/hr., and its HPI is 78.6.
10.Arkansas holds the highest minimum wage of the bottom 10 at $11/hr. The HPI is 79.1.
11.Tennessee has to follow the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr., and its HPI is 79.3.
12.South Carolina has to abide by the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr., since they have no state minimum wage. The HPI there is 79.6.
13.Kentucky has a minimum wage of $7.25/hr. Its HPI is 79.9.
14.Missouri's minimum wage is at $12/hr. The HPI is 80.3.
15.Michigan's minimum wage is currently $10.10/hr. The HPI is 80.7.
16.Wyoming's minimum wage is $7.25/hr. with an HPI of 81.3.
17.In Texas, the minimum wage is $7.25/hr. The HPI is 83.8.
18.New Mexico touts a decent minimum wage at $12/hr., while its HPI is 89.6.
19.Louisiana's employers go by the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr., since the state has no minimum wage of its own. The HPI there is 86.
20.Illinois's minimum wage is $13/hr. The API is 86.6.
21.Nebraska's minimum wage is $10.50/hr. with an HPI of 86.6.
22.Wisconsin's minimum wage may match the federal minimum wage at $7.25/hr., but its HPI is a jump from Nebraska's to 88.4.
23.North Carolina is another state with minimum wage of $7.25/hr. Its HPI is 88.6.
24.Minnesota's minimum wage is peculiarly set at $10.59/hr. Its HPI breaks into the 90s at 90.2.
25.North Dakota also has a minimum wage of $7.25/hr. The HPI is 95.4.
26.Pennsylvania also matches the federal minimum wage at $7.25/hr. The HPI is 98.
27.Utah's minimum wage is $7.25/hr. The HPI is 98.4.
28.Florida minimum wage is $11/hr., with an HPI of 99.
29.Delaware's minimum wage $11.75/hr. It's the first state to break a 100 HPI score, with an HPI of 103.1.
30.Montana's minimum wage is $9.95/hr. The HPI takes a jump yet again to 106.3.
31.In Arizona, minimum wage is at $13.85/hr. The HPI is 107.7.
32.New Hampshire's minimum wage is at $7.25/hr., while their HPI is 108.1.
33.Idaho has set their minimum wage to match the federal rate, $7.25/hr. The HPI goes up considerably from New Hampshire's, coming in at 110.4.
34.Virginia's minimum wage is currently $12/hr. The HPI is 111.5.
35.In South Dakota, minimum wage is $10.80. The HPI is 112.8.
36.Colorado's minimum wage and HPI are both higher than the average, with the minimum wage rate at $13.65/hr. and the HPI at 116.4.
37.Nevada has a particular rule around minimum wage. For employees who are not offered benefits, it's $10.50/hr. Those who are offered benefits have a minimum wage of $9.50/hr. The HPI is 117.9.
38.Washington has the highest minimum wage of all 50 states at $15.74/hr. Its HPI is 119.
39.Rhode Island's minimum wage isn't too shabby at $13/hr. The HPI is 121.7.
40.Alaska's minimum wage is $10.85/hr. Throughout the top 10, we'll see the HPI's take a huge jump. The Last Frontier's HPI is 126.9.
41.Connecticut's minimum wage is $14/hr. The HPI there is 134.6.
42.Vermont has a minimum wage of $13.18. The HPI is 136.2.
43.Maine has a minimum wage of $13.80/hr. and an HPI of 136.6.
44.New Jersey has a slightly higher minimum wage of $14.13/hr., but the same HPI: 136.6.
45.Maryland's minimum wage is $13.25/hr. The HPI takes a huge leap to 165.9.
46.In Oregon, the minimum wage is set to $13.50/hr. The HPI is 172.6.
47.Massachusetts's minimum wage is $15/hr., with an HPI of 177.6.
48.California is where things get crazy. The minimum wage is $15.50/hr., and the HPI is 201.9.
49.New York's minimum wage is $14.20/hr. The HPI in the Big Apple is 230.1.
50.And last, and least — least affordable, that is — we have Hawaii. The minimum wage there is $10/hr., with an HPI of 315.
There you have it! Any surprises? What states are you eyeballing? Let's talk about it in the comments!
