Cost of Living in the USA in 2020

I'll make it very short.

For one person, unless you have a monthly income of $100.000 and Provided you are an healthy and young individual that needs to go to the doctor/specialists for minor issues, that pays a rent or mortgage of not more than a $1500, don't even bother to come to the US.

Only in health care expenses, between premiums, out of pockets and medicine,  they will squeeze you and, If you study as well...good luck!

Yes, cost of life may vary from State to State, but it doesn't change the substance because the health care and education system is a robbery to say the least.

Look people, I live in the States and my family is my husband and my 8 year old son. I'm 54 and starting to have health issues. The amount of money I solely spend in health care for me and my di is outrageous. I'm even scare to go to the emergency knowing that I would be billed thousands of dollars each time! And not only from the hospital itself, but for every single nurse, doctor, admitting staff and single pill, injection, testing I will receive because each of these professionals uses the hospital facility to practice their profession! An believe me that the number of people you'll be seen and you'll talk to during an ER stay is ridicule! Just to take money out of you!

Bottom line? I'm looking forward not only to live this outrageous country, but to give up my American citizenship as well!

Manuela1234 wrote:

For one person, unless you have a monthly income of $100.000 and Provided you are an healthy and young individual that needs to go to the doctor/specialists for minor issues, that pays a rent or mortgage of not more than a $1500, don't even bother to come to the US.

Your comment is both an exaggeration and a contradiction in itself.

You said that for one person, a required monthly income has to be $100k but the rent/mortgage cannot be more than $1500?  I don't know where you can find such person in such place .  For that income, one would have to live in large cities where professional jobs are abundant, but there isn't any *good* neighbourhood in large cities where one can find rent or mortgage for $1500. 

My husband's and my income combined had never reached $100k, and we lived in Southern CA.  We had a house with old mortgage in an expensive beach town, then later on, we lived in apartments with medium rent.  We had 2 older cars.  We were healthy, but still we paid for good insurance at work.  We travelled all over the world twice a year. 

My daughter and her husband are making approximately $175k in Southern CA.  Their rent is $3500.  They have 2 high end cars (Volvo and BMW).  They pay into good insurance at work and need medical care periodically.  They travel to Europe once a year.

I can go on and give you hundreds of similar examples, all in Southern CA, none of them matches the contradicting image of life in the States as you describe in your comment.

> How much does it cost to rent an apartment/house in the USA?
Hawaii is an expensive state. In Oahu, small studio apartments start at $1500. We found a cheap place $2700 with a 3-bed room. $3000 is kinda average for 2-3 bedrooms.

> How much do you pay for your public transport tickets (bus, subway, train, tram)?
I don't use too much transportation we have 2 cars but when I use Uber for the dentist  it was just $35

> Staple food: what do people eat and how much do they pay for basic food like bread, rice, pasta?
Food is expensive, Things a little bit upside down here. Everything comes from mainland and transportation cost adds. I saw one time a pound of apple $8. Not a usual price Generally $2-3 but if the price high just don't buy apple go with pine apple.


>What is your monthly grocery budget?
We are not so careful about what we bought and sometimes waste some food. Our budget around $400 for 2 people.

> How much does it cost to see a physician/doctor/specialist in the USA?
We have good insurances with my husband's job. Still copays around $200 in a month

> What is your children's schooling monthly budget?
No clue kids are grown up

> How much does it cost to fill up your car's fuel tank?
$4.50 and such. But Costco gas is at least 50 cents cheaper than everywhere.

> How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc.?
Electric so expensive. We are lucky there is solar and our electric bill is fixed. $275.
But I heard people running AC and paying $800 a month.

> How much do you pay for your Internet/phone subscription?
We have a cheap deal $40 internet $60 phone..

> How much do you pay for your lunch pack on weekdays?
Probably $8-15

> How much do you pay for an espresso coffee?
$3

> How much do you pay for a cinema ticket?
Ugg so long we didn't go I don't know

> How much does a gym membership cost in the USA?
Family membership in YMCA is unlimited $130. Pool Gym and all. We have a free pool and gym for all residents. We are not paying anything.
Private gyms in Waikiki probably various prices but if you are living in a condo unit most of them has a gym

This is such an interesting topic.
I am actually an expat, moved to Texas from Europe 4 years ago. I am already educated and here a good salary is considered anything over 60k/year.
I tend to agree that is extremely hard to live in the U.S. unless you make a lot of money (I tend to agree with 100k) and you are VERY healthy. I took a close look to my finances and I can tell you that for a medium health plan I pay each year almost 900k and my company offers excellent benefits. I have a deductible of 400$ plus co-pays for each visit. So it gets very quick very expensive.
I do live in a big city and rest is around 1.500$, but if you factor in the deductions for 41k, any savings, if you have any loans (car or school) you barely get though the month with a couple of going out for drinks and food. To be clear, between rent and bills and loans, I spend half of my salary. And I don t have student loans.
I have traveled very much in the U.S. due to my job and it s not cheap at all. Flights are never below 250-300$ if you want a carry on (if you want a checked luggage is way more), hotels in the U.S. offer very poor conditions for anything below 4 stars, which makes it about 80-100$ per night. If you don t live in a well connected city (like L.A., NY, Altlanta, etc) the flights are even more expensive.
I can see how people can travel once a month with no other savings put aside. Most Americans live paycheck to paycheck because all you manage to save you spend it on travel.
And Texas is as considered a cheap place to live.
To give clear numbers on this, I have traveled on my own through Arizona for 4th of July long weekend: flights were 300$. I had a friend s car (so we only payed gas). We visited Grand Canyon-1 day, Antilope Canyon- 1 day, Sedona-1 day and Vegas 1 day. We split the hotels so each payed almost 300$ because we shared the room. We also payed to go with the kayak and the entrance to Antilope Canyon they have a bundle which is actually the cheapest option (200$). So we are at 800$ without food and gas.
I can see how some of the cost might be lowered if you go camping, but after you reach 30 you just need a door to your room
I m stating all of this after 4 years and very good research on traveling here. And it makes sense to me now why a lot of people are talking about money so much.

Hi,

Your question is very general. It depends on each state. Some of them are more expensive than others.
However, as far as rent and buying price for a home. I recommend looking at this site. It does just that:
https://www.zillow.com/
In the US, people buy cars. You can start with a used car from a local dealership but I recommend buying a new car and make payments if you're planning to stay here more than 4 years. It will save you maintenance money.
Food, Walmart is the cheapest supermarket; you're welcome to visit https://www.walmart.com/cp/breakfast-food-cereal/976783 for groceries prices. 
Cinema is cheap as well.

Good luck, the east coast in general is cheaper than California.

Manuela1234 I see your post as nothing but a rant. It is easily possible for a small family to live and enjoy life and get an education under 100k.
What keeps you in the US?

sofiaa123 you pay 900k health insurance premiums and have a 400 deductible per visit and your company offers great benefits? It may be time to revisit the medical plan options and your understanding of them.

Grand Canyon and excursions on a Fourth of July weekend and you complain about prices? This is top summer season for the US and Europe.

The US is too diverse to say this is what it costs. Individual needs vary too much.

We moved to OK from TX four years ago. 3k allows a fairly pleasant life and about 300 of that goes to our two cats. Real estate tax, car/house insurances run about 10k. No mortgage or debt.
Medical/dental/vision with a 25/copay on office visits and up to 10/copay on prescriptions is 800/year. That includes a full scope of preventive measures which includes a full regimen of allergy treatment (cats of all things) for the last six years.
SO is active in his sport on state level and plans to move to national level and it pays almost for itself ten plus years into it.
Education can be expensive if you do not understand the system. A bit of research and effort is required but that applies to everything.