For a lot of families, the dream setup is simple: one parent brings home a solid paycheck while the other handles the chaos of nap schedules, school pickups, and everything in between. The catch is that in 2026, that dream comes with a very specific price tag, and it changes dramatically depending on where the family lives. Fresh state-by-state research now puts hard numbers on how much a single earner has to make so a partner can step back from paid work without the budget falling apart.
The gap between the cheapest and most expensive states is wide enough to reshape life plans, from whether to have a second child to whether to move across the country. In some places, a single income around the national six-figure mark is now the baseline for a stay-at-home setup, while in others, the threshold is tens of thousands of dollars lower. The numbers are blunt, but they give parents a clearer way to weigh the tradeoff between a second paycheck and a second pair of hands at home.
How analysts figured out the “one income” number
The new estimates start from a straightforward question: what does it cost a three person household to cover the basics if only one adult is working. To answer that, researchers built an analysis around core living costs like rent, groceries, health insurance, transportation, and other essentials for a family with one child. The idea is not to price out private school or luxury vacations, but to capture what it takes to keep the lights on and the pantry stocked without leaning on credit cards.
To keep the math grounded in reality, the estimates draw heavily on 2025 figures from the MIT Living Wage Calculator, which tracks what a household needs, not what it would take to live lavishly. That same data underpins a broader finding that in many states, a single income now has to land somewhere around $75 per hour at full time to reliably cover a family’s basic bills. When researchers then layer in child related expenses and the loss of a second paycheck, they arrive at a state specific salary threshold that shows exactly how high the working parent’s income has to climb before the other can realistically stay home.
The national picture: six figures is the new “comfortable”
Zooming out from individual states, the national trend line is clear: a single paycheck has to stretch a lot further than it used to. Recent economic work finds that a typical single income household now needs roughly $100,000 a year to feel financially stable, even before factoring in the extra costs that come with kids. That figure lines up with the new state by state thresholds, which often sit near or above that six figure mark in high cost regions and only dip meaningfully lower in a handful of more affordable states.
Separate research on what it takes to “live comfortably” backs up the same story. For an average family of four, analysts have flagged Massachusetts, Hawaii, Connecticut, as some of the most expensive states, with required salaries that can rival executive level pay. When those comfort level numbers are compared with the stay at home thresholds, the overlap is obvious: in the priciest states, the income needed for one parent to step back from work is essentially the same income families say they need just to feel like they are not constantly one bill away from trouble.
Hawaii and the states where a stay-at-home parent costs the most
At the very top of the list sits Hawaii, where the math for a one income household is especially unforgiving. For a family with one child, the single earner has to bring in $102,773 a year so the other parent can stay home, while two working parents would need a combined $119,226 to cover the same basic costs. The same breakdown puts the annual Cost of raising a child for two working parents at $33,363, which helps explain why the tradeoff between a second paycheck and full time caregiving is so stark in the islands.
Those high thresholds are not happening in a vacuum. Separate reporting notes that Hawaii has also been ranked as the most expensive state for a single adult, requiring income of $124,467 just to “live well,” and the second most expensive for a family of four. Another detailed look at state level costs points out that in Hawaii, a working parent not only has to clear that $102,773 mark, but also has to contend with housing and food prices that are consistently among the highest in the country, according to Another breakdown that leans on Massachusetts Institute of Technology living wage calculator data.
California, Massachusetts and New York: big paychecks, big tradeoffs
Just behind Hawaii are a cluster of coastal heavyweights where salaries are high, but so are rents and daycare bills. Fresh estimates show that in California, a family needs a single income of $97,656 for one parent to stay home, while in Massachusetts the threshold is $97,261 and in New York it is $92,290. Earlier coverage of the same research notes that California, Massachusetts, and New York all sit near or above $90,000 for a single earner to support a three person household, with one analysis pegging that benchmark at a clean $90,000 when summarizing the group.
Those figures line up with broader cost of living rankings that consistently place Massachusetts among the most expensive states for families, alongside California and New York. Another national look at comfortable salaries for a family of four again highlights Massachusetts and California as top tier high cost states, reinforcing why their stay at home thresholds are brushing up against six figures. For parents in Boston, San Francisco, or New York City, that means the decision to have one partner step back from work is less about whether a single salary can technically cover the bills and more about whether that salary can keep up with housing markets and childcare costs that move faster than most pay raises.
Where a stay-at-home parent is actually “affordable”
On the other end of the spectrum are the states where a one income household is still within reach for middle class jobs. A detailed state by state breakdown points to a group of States where it is most affordable to be a stay at home parent, with the lowest income thresholds to support a three person household. In these places, the salary needed for one parent to stay home can fall tens of thousands of dollars below the six figure mark, which changes the calculus for families weighing whether a second income is worth the cost of childcare and commuting.
Even in those more affordable regions, though, the numbers are not exactly low. One breakdown of typical budgets shows that a Single income of $74,006 might be enough for one parent to stay home in a given state, while the same family would need $83,117 if both parents are working and paying for outside care. That gap illustrates a key point: in lower cost states, the salary required for a stay at home setup can actually be lower than the combined income needed when both parents are in the workforce, once childcare and work related expenses are factored in.
The Mississippi and Midwest effect
Some of the biggest differences show up when comparing high cost coastal states with places like Mississippi and parts of the Midwest. In national comfort level rankings, Mississippi is often cited as one of the least expensive states for a family of four, with a required salary that can be dramatically lower than what is needed in Massachusetts or Hawaii. One widely shared breakdown even lists Mississippi alongside a specific figure of $186,618 in a comparison of how much it takes to live comfortably in each state, highlighting just how wide the range can be when analysts use different assumptions about lifestyle and savings.
For stay at home parents, the more modest cost of housing and childcare in many Midwestern and Southern states means the income threshold for a one earner household can be significantly lower than in coastal metros. That is part of why some of the States flagged as most affordable for a stay at home setup cluster in these regions. Families in smaller cities and rural areas may still feel squeezed, but the gap between a typical local salary and the amount needed for one parent to stay home is often narrower than it is in places where rent alone can swallow half a paycheck.
How child costs and two-income budgets change the math
One of the more surprising findings in the new research is that a two income household does not automatically come out ahead once kids enter the picture. In Hawaii, for example, the same analysis that pegs the single earner threshold at $102,773 also finds that two working parents need a combined $119,226 to cover their bills, with the Cost of raising a child for two working parents at $33,363, according to the Cost breakdown. That extra spending on childcare, transportation, and work clothes can eat up a large share of the second paycheck, especially in high cost states.
Other states show similar patterns, with one example highlighting a Single income of $74,006 as enough for a stay at home arrangement, compared with $83,117 needed when both parents work. A separate table of Income Needed to Keep One Parent at Home lists each State alongside the Single income needed for one parent to stay home, with some states requiring as much as $90,542 for that setup. The takeaway is that the value of a second paycheck depends heavily on local childcare prices and tax rules, not just on the headline salary number.
City life, “comfortable” salaries and why location dominates
Even within the same state, the city a family lives in can swing the numbers by tens of thousands of dollars. A look at the salary needed to live comfortably in the ten most affordable major U.S. cities, for example, shows that some metros can offer a decent lifestyle on incomes like $85,197, $66,629, $85,446, $67,015, and $85,571. Those figures are for comfort, not bare bones survival, which means that in some of these cities, a single income at the upper end of that range could realistically support a stay at home parent, especially if the family keeps housing costs in check.
By contrast, families in high cost metros like Boston, San Diego, or New York City often find that even salaries well above $90,000 feel tight once rent, healthcare, and childcare are paid. That is part of why the stay at home thresholds in Massachusetts and California sit so close to six figures. When local housing markets are absorbing a third or more of take home pay, the room left over for a second car, preschool tuition, or an emergency fund shrinks quickly, making the decision to rely on one income feel riskier even if the numbers technically add up on paper.
How families are using these numbers in real life
For parents in the thick of these decisions, the state by state thresholds are less about chasing a perfect number and more about setting a realistic floor. One widely shared chart on social media framed it bluntly: When a couple welcomes a child to their family, many may want one parent to stay home, but recent economic analyses indicate that a household requires an annual income that is increasingly limited to high earning families, a point that resonated with When 819 likes and 69 comments poured in from parents comparing notes. Many of them were less interested in the exact dollar figure than in how to adjust their housing, debt, or career plans to get closer to it.
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