Study: Four-Person Family Here Needs More Than $88,000 to Get By

Posted by Mary Ann Barton

Everyone knows that the DC area's cost of living is high, but how high?

Apparently if you're a family of four living in the DC region, a new study says you need at least $88,615 to "attain a secure yet modest living standard by estimating community-specific costs of housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, other necessities, and taxes," according to a new study out by the Economic Policy Institute.

The cost of living in the D.C.-area is around $25,000 -- or 40 percent -- higher than the national median of $63,000, according to WAMU's report on EPI's findings.

The budget calculator looked at costs for housing, food, transportation and more.

The average rental price in 2012 of all types of residential property rose 2.4 percent to $2,103 per month in the first quarter of the year, according to data from the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR).

In a presentation to Reston Association's Board of Directors last week, Reston Interfaith CEO Kerrie Wilson highlighted some of the issues for Reston-area families who don't earn the $88,000 necessary for a DC-area lifestyle.

Wilson said a family of four must earn $56,400 to be able to afford a typical two-bedroom apartment. To afford a fair-market value apartment (about $1,412 a month for a two-bedroom), a minimum-wage worker must work 132 hours a week.

Want to see how living in the DC area stacks up against other cities across the United States? Use CNN's Cost of Living Calculator to see how far your budget would go elsewhere compared to DC.

Do you think the cost of living here is too high? Tell us in the comments