Study Shows Living Costs are Far Outpacing Wages in Manatee

BRADENTON – The recent annual update to the Economic Policy Institute’s 2018 Family Budget Calculator says that a Manatee County family of four needs $77,800 a year just to maintain an "adequate yet modest standard of living." Meanwhile, the median household income in Manatee County is only $50,835.

The difficulty facing young adults, seniors and the disabled is demonstrated by an annual living cost of just over $36,000 for a single individual with no dependents. The median individual wage in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan area is only $41,870.