Here in NJ one would struggle on three times $27K to raise a small family. My wife and I bring home far more than $27K, and for the most part we are “too poor to shop” for anything of consequence. A lot of no-frills foodstuffs, Wal-Mart shopping for groceries, etc. - but no major purchases (including vacation this year). We should have been living like this years ago, but few people understood how much the dollar would be de-valued back then.
If I worked for 1,000 tons of grain 10 years ago, today (even with annual raises) I’m working for 900 tons...
I’m in NJ too. It sucks. Our COL is so high, taxes so high. Our affluent area (that we could barely afford to live in to begin with) is overrun with Section 8 housing type people. It’s amazing.