What Is the Salary a Single Person in Louisiana Needs to Earn Just to Get By?

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) - There’s no sugarcoating it: the economy is still struggling, and the outlook isn’t exactly rosy.

With slow GDP growth, inflation taking a long time to come down, and grocery prices refusing to budge, many Americans are feeling the financial squeeze. Savings accounts have dwindled, and more people are relying on credit cards just to cover basic necessities.

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In the midst of this economic uncertainty, it’s somewhat of a relief that Louisiana isn’t one of the most expensive places to live in the country. Unlike major metropolitan areas where the cost of living is sky-high, Louisiana’s cities and towns offer a more affordable lifestyle. The absence of large, expensive urban centers helps keep housing and daily expenses relatively low.

But even with these advantages, living comfortably in Louisiana is no small feat. The question arises: how much do you really need to make ends meet here? For a single person, the answer might be more than you think. Achieving what’s known as a "living wage" in Louisiana still requires careful financial planning and hard work.

A living wage is more than just surviving; it’s earning enough to cover all your basic needs—housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and other essentials—without constantly worrying about money. In Louisiana, where the cost of living is lower, this might seem easier to achieve, but the reality is that many still find themselves stretched thin.

While Louisiana offers a more affordable lifestyle than many parts of the country, the economic challenges facing Americans are very real. To get by in Louisiana, as elsewhere, it takes not just effort but also careful budgeting and financial planning.

What is a "Living Wage"

A living wage is the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs, maintain a decent standard of living, and provide for the well-being of themselves and their family. The concept of a living wage goes beyond the minimum wage, which is often set by governments and may not always be sufficient to cover the cost of living.

The idea behind a living wage is to ensure that individuals and families can afford the essentials such as housing, food, healthcare, transportation, and education. It takes into account factors such as local costs of living and can vary from one region to another. A living wage is designed to provide economic security and prevent workers from falling into poverty.

Advocates for a living wage argue that it not only benefits individual workers and their families but also contributes to a more stable and equitable society by reducing poverty and income inequality. Critics, however, often express concerns about potential negative effects on businesses, particularly small businesses, which may face increased labor costs.

In many places, discussions and movements advocating for a living wage have gained momentum, leading to changes in minimum wage laws and increased attention to the broader issue of income inequality.

GoBankingRates set out to find how much a single person has to earn to get by in each state. Their researchers used the latest available Consumer Expenditure Survey data for a single person from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to calculate the annual cost of necessities.

That annual cost was based on data from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s 2023 Q1 Cost of Living Data Series.

Louisiana is No. 17 in the nation when it comes to minimum living wage, with a single person needing to make $50,087 a year minimum to get by.

Lowest Minimum Living Wages in the U.S.

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The highest minimum living wage, however, is Hawaii, where you'd need $112,411 a year to meet all your basic needs.