And think about how much 'everything else' you have in your life. The agency recommends nudging those numbers up by 20% for people living alone.Īdded up, the total is just short of wiping out not only the 50% for living expenses, but also the 30% for everything else. Department of Agriculture's 'thrifty' food plan prescribes a $302 monthly cost for men aged 20 to 50 and a $241 cost for similarly aged women. That puts our hypothetical budgeter at about $2,400, and they've yet to feed themselves. Need a car to get work? The average monthly payment on a used vehicle is $526, according to Experian, plus, you can expect to pay $150 to $200 per month on gas, per J.D. Plus, the average single-family home spends about $172 per month on utilities, according to. That $1,643 will scarcely cover the national average rent - $1,495 - on a one-bedroom apartment, according to rental platform Zumper. You don't have to look very hard to realize some of those numbers look unrealistic. Living expenses (50%): $1,643 per month.State and local tax obligation: -$6,635Īfter everything is taken out of their paycheck, someone earning a median salary is left with an annual income of $39,442, which equates to $3,286 per month.Among workers who face an annual deductible for single coverage, the average is $1,763, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Plus, if you receive medical coverage through your employer, you'll owe insurance premiums. Your share is 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare. On a median salary, you're paying $6,635.Īssuming you're not self-employed, you and your firm split the bill on Social Security and Medicare tax. All told, state and local taxes amount to 11.6% on average, according to the Tax Foundation. If you live in one of 41 states or the District of Columbia, you'll also owe state income tax. A single filer earning a $57,200 salary and claiming the standard deduction would owe an obligation of $4,985, according to the IRS's Tax Withholding Estimator tool. But as anyone who has ever collected a paycheck knows, a few line items are removed before that money makes its way to you.įirst, federal taxes. For a single American, the median annual income is $57,200, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Percentages of a household budget