Want to live comfortably? Here’s how much you need to make in every state

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Like millions of other Americans, you may get your bi-weekly paycheck and immediately begin to divvy it out on your routine bills: Food, then perhaps the mortgage, the electric bill, then the water bill — and on and on and on. You may wonder what people in some other cities or states are paying for the same essentials. You may even wonder from time to time if it’s cheaper “over there?” Now, you don’t have wonder.

MIT’s Living Wage Calculator shows what people in different areas of the country need to earn to live above the poverty line, meaning in comfort with a more-than-basic food budget (and perhaps a Netflix account).

Here’s what you need to earn to live comfortably in your state

When attaching a number to a person’s living wage, MIT’s calculations take into account things that federal policy makers do not, such as “childcare and health care that not only draw from one’s income, but also are determining factors in one’s ability to work and to endure the potential hardships associated with balancing employment and other aspects of everyday life,” a summary of the analysis says.

Using MIT’s figures, jobs site Zippia.com created a map showing how much you’d have to earn in each state to be making a “living wage.”

Here’s a breakdown by CNBC.com on what you need to earn in each state to live moderately on the hog contrasted with that state’s median household income:

Alabama

Living wage: $45,824
Median household income: $46,257

Alaska

Living wage: $54,400
Median household income: $76,440

Arizona

Living wage: $51,341
Median household income: $53,558

Arkansas

Living wage: $44,571
Median household income: $44,334

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California

Living wage: $57,315
Median household income: $67,739

Colorado

Living wage: $53,792
Median household income: $65,685

Connecticut

Living wage: $59,502
Median household income: $73,433

Delaware

Living wage: $53,112
Median household income: $61,757

Florida

Living wage: $52,206
Median household income: $50,860

Georgia

Living wage: $47,946
Median household income: $53,559

Hawaii

Living wage: $60,700
Median household income: $74,511

Idaho

Living wage: $45,801
Median household income: $51,807

Illinois

Living wage: $52,304
Median household income: $60,960

Indiana

Living wage: $46,838
Median household income: $52,314

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Iowa

Living wage: $48,882
Median household income: $56,247

Kansas

Living wage: $48,054
Median household income: $54,935

Kentucky

Living wage: $43,308
Median household income: $46,659

Louisiana

Living wage: $47,975
Median household income: $45,146

Maine

Living wage: $51,305
Median household income: $53,079

Maryland

Living wage: $58,178
Median household income: $78,945

Massachusetts

Living wage: $59,560
Median household income: $75,297

Michigan

Living wage: $48,837
Median household income: $52,492

Minnesota

Living wage: $52,115
Median household income: $65,599

Mississippi

Living wage: $46,084
Median household income: $41,754

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Missouri

Living wage: $46,159
Median household income: $51,746

Montana

Living wage: $47,083
Median household income: $50,027

Nebraska

Living wage: $48,076
Median household income: $56,927

Nevada

Living wage: $52,698
Median household income: $55,180

New Hampshire

Living wage: $55,103
Median household income: $70,936

New Jersey

Living wage: $56,109
Median household income: $76,126

New Mexico

Living wage: $48,050
Median household income: $46,748

New York

Living wage: $59,128
Median household income: $62,909

North Carolina

Living wage: $49,575
Median household income: $50,584

North Dakota

Living wage: $46,814
Median household income: $60,656

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Ohio

Living wage: $45,853
Median household income: $52,334

Oklahoma

Living wage: $46,613
Median household income: $49,176

Oregon

Living wage: $51,900
Median household income: $57,532

Pennsylvania

Living wage: $49,914
Median household income: $56,907

Rhode Island

Living wage: $53,240
Median household income: $60,596

South Carolina

Living wage: $46,568
Median household income: $49,501

South Dakota

Living wage: $45,410
Median household income: $54,467

Tennessee

Living wage: $46,785
Median household income: $48,547

Texas

Living wage: $48,160
Median household income: $56,565

Utah

Living wage: $47,922
Median household income: $65,977

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Vermont

Living wage: $51,977
Median household income: $57,677

Virginia

Living wage: $54,264
Median household income: $68,114

Washington

Living wage: $51,271
Median household income: $67,106

West Virginia

Living wage: $44,823
Median household income: $43,385

Wisconsin

Living wage: $51,120
Median household income: $56,811

Wyoming

Living wage: $47,951
Median household income: $59,882

RELATED: This is how much $1 million in retirement savings will last in one state

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