Because studies have shown it is almost impossible for low-income families to follow the Thrifty Food Plan, we have chosen to use the Low-Cost monthly estimates in calculating a budget that reflects basic family needs. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides monthly estimates of the average cost of four different food plans: Thrifty, Low-Cost, Moderate-cost and Liberal.
Basic needs budgets are created for all 99 counties, as well as an average budget for the state.
#AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD BUDGET FULL#
This report focuses on non-senior Iowa households with at least one adult working full time. The basic budget does not include savings, loan payments, education expenses, any entertainment or vacation, social or recreational travel, or meals outside the home.Įach basic family budget applies to a particular family type - given the number of family members, the ages of the children, and the employment status and ages of the adults. The basic-needs budgets constructed for this report represent a very frugal living standard using costs as of 2021 (with the exception of health insurance, which is based on 2022 premiums), the budgets are based on what is needed to “survive” rather than “thrive.” This includes allowances for rent, utilities, food prepared at home, child care, health care, transportation, clothing and other household necessities. Here we provide a description of the data and sources for the basic family budgets, explain how we arrived at the family supporting wage, describe the operation of the tax credits and work supports, and explain how we estimated the proportion of families with income below self-sufficiency. Previously we had used the cost in a registered home. The only modification from the previous edition, released in 2019, is that child care costs now are based on the county or state average cost of care in a licensed child care center, reflecting the fact that a large majority of child care slots in the state are in such centers. Detailed family budgets for the 10 families in each of Iowa’s 99 counties, based on county level cost data, was made available on the Common Good Iowa website at the same time and can be found here. The share of Iowa families with incomes too low to cover a basic budget is also estimated, and the role of tax credits and work support programs in bridging the gap between wages and basic budgets is illustrated. The basic family budgets are based on the state average costs for food, housing, transportation, child care, health care, and household expenses. The report focuses on basic family budgets for 10 family types, and the living wage for each family type: the hourly wage that would provide after-tax income sufficient to meet basic needs for a full-time worker. The eighth edition of The Cost of Living in Iowa was released in March, 2022.
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