SmartReads

As housing, grocery, transportation and other essential costs pressure household budgets, earning a six-figure salary no longer guarantees financial comfort in much of the U.S. A single adult now needs at least $80,000 a year to live comfortably in every state, while the threshold exceeds $100,000 in nearly half of states. For a family of… read more…

Rising home prices, combined with limited housing supply, have made it challenging for young adults to enter the housing market. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, nearly 9 in 10 younger Americans say it is harder for them to buy a home than it was for their parents. Nonetheless, younger buyers continue to… read more…

Inflation erodes purchasing power by pushing up the cost of everyday goods and services. In many U.S. cities, median household income has outpaced inflation by a wide margin, offsetting the impact of rising costs. In others, however, residents are falling far enough behind to intensify the squeeze on household budgets. SmartAsset ranked 94 major population… read more…

Wage equality helps define how workers share in economic growth. When top earners pull far ahead of median workers, rising high-end pay concentrates gains among a relatively small group. According to the Economic Policy Institute, earnings inequality has “redistributed wages away from most workers” and stifled “broader-based wage growth.” However, wider wage gaps may also… read more…