Living the American dream is what drives millions of Americans to wake up every morning and head into the office or onto the jobsite; the promise of a better tomorrow if you put in the work today.
As the cost of living gets higher though, many are finding it more difficult to achieve the American dream.
GoBankingRates set out to determine how much it would cost in each state to achieve the American dream, which they defined as "a married couple with two children, owning a home for four along with a car and a pet."
Each state was then analuzed with a number of criteria, including "annual grocery costs, pet care costs (based on the average annual cost of a dog and cat), an annual mortgage with a 20% down payment, annual healthcare costs, utilities costs education costs and cost of childcare for two children."
All annual costs were added up to represent 50% of a household's income and doubled to account for 30% of discretionary spending and 20% for savings.
Through all this, GoBankingRates found that the "true cost" of the American dream in Texas was $147,535, breaking down the expenses as follows:
Total annual cost: $73,767 Grocery cost per year: $7,952 Pet care costs: $1,177 Annual car costs: $8,719 Median home price: $299,474 Annual mortgage: $23,908 Healthcare annual costs: $6,939 Utilities annual costs: $6,195 Education annual costs: $2,491 Childcare annual costs: $16,386.
Texas actually ranked 20th among the 50 states for lowest cost to achieve the American dream. The lowest was Mississippi at $109.516, with the most expensive being Hawaii at $260,734.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow 100.3 JACK-FM
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
