FLOURISH

Aliss Higham

By Aliss Higham

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Americans are working longer each year just to afford life’s most basic expenses, as the cost of living in the U.S. continues to grow.

A new analysis by InvestorsObserver has found that in several states, workers now devote as much as two to three months of their year solely to covering rent, groceries and setting aside money for a used car, before paying for health care, debt or any sort of discretionary spending.

The research compared hourly wages with the cost of these three essentials across all 50 states between 2007, right before the financial crash, and 2025. The findings suggest that while pay has risen substantially over that period, it has failed to keep pace with the surge in everyday costs.

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On average nationwide, workers now spend 66 workdays each year earning enough to cover rent, food and savings for a used vehicle. That is seven more days than in 2007. In the 10 hardest-hit states, the gap is far wider.

Where Workers Are Losing the Most Time

In the states facing the greatest pressure, residents must dedicate between 25 and 33 percent of the year—roughly two to three months—just to cover these basics.

In Hawaii, workers must put in 86.6 full eight-hour days annually to afford a one-bedroom apartment, a year’s worth of groceries and save for a used car, amounting to nearly one-third of the year focused solely on essential expenses.

The East Coast dominates much of the ranking. New Jersey requires 83.6 workdays, followed by Maryland at 80.9 days and Delaware at 80.3 days. Massachusetts and Rhode Island each exceed 76 days.

California also ranks among the most strained states at 75.3 days. It recorded one of the sharpest increases since 2007, underscoring the state’s ongoing affordability challenges. Although wages have climbed, housing costs—especially in major metropolitan areas—have risen faster, reshaping migration trends and fueling years of policy debate.

Florida, long viewed as a relatively affordable destination, now requires 74.4 workdays. Rapid population growth and surging rents in cities such as Miami, Orlando and Tampa have eroded its once lower-cost reputation. Nevada (74.2 days) and Connecticut (72.2 days) round out the top 10.

Even in Connecticut, where the required time is lowest among the hardest-hit states, workers must labor until roughly mid-March each year to meet the three essential costs.

The full ranking:

Long-Term Impact

In the 10 most affected states, workers spend an average of 15.6 additional days each year compared with 2007 to afford the same rent, groceries and used car. Over a 40-year career, that equates to roughly 2.5 extra years of labor devoted purely to inflation.

Delaware stands out for the scale of its increase. Workers there need 25.4 additional workdays annually compared with 2007, which is more than five full work weeks, or nearly 10 percent of a typical work year, simply to maintain the same standard of living.

While hourly pay in Delaware has risen from $25.37 in 2007 to $32.54 in 2025, costs have climbed even faster. Rent alone accounts for 18.2 of those additional workdays, the research found.

Vehicle costs have also surged. In 2007, the typical passenger car on U.S. roads was 9.2 years old, and a Delaware worker needed 35 hours of labor each year to save for one. By 2025, the average vehicle age had risen to 12.8 years, yet the time required to save for it jumped to more than 61 hours.

The Mid-Atlantic region broadly reflects similar pressures. Maryland ranks second in added workdays, with 18.5 more days required annually than in 2007. New Jersey and New York also show steep increases.

Wages vs. Costs

Nationally, the average hourly wage rose from $20.75 in 2007 to about $34.35 in 2025, which is a 65.6 percent increase. And while on paper that may appear significant, the cost of basic necessities has grown even faster.

The result, according to the analysis, is that many Americans are no longer trading time for upward mobility, but simply for stability, working more hours just to cover foundational expenses.

Still, a handful of states have bucked the broader trend. Idaho is the most improved, with workers needing 4.9 fewer days to afford the same three essentials than they did in 2007. Arkansas residents now spend 3.8 fewer days per year earning for these basics, while South Dakota has also seen modest improvement.

For most of the country, however, the trajectory points the other way. In the priciest states, up to a third of the calendar year is consumed by earning enough to secure housing, food and transportation, before any other financial priorities can even be considered.

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