LIVIN’ THE DREAM: A tongue-in-cheek response to a common prompt. How are you? How’s it going? How’s life treating you?

Livin’ the dream.

It’s a favorite regionally, so you’ve almost certainly had someone reply to you with it, or you’ve overheard someone say it. Maybe they’re genuinely content, or maybe they’re barely hanging on amid some fresh chaos.

But how much does it actually cost to live the dream? An American one, specifically. 

A recent analysis by the finance website GoBankingRates has pinned the figure at, nationally, $89,000 a year.

Now, the analysis set out to find the amount needed to live comfortably in the country’s 50 largest cities. The city with the highest “American dream” threshold is San Jose, Calif., at $319,000. Six of the top 10 cities are in California. New York City clocks in at $220,000, Seattle at $212,000, Boston at $199,000 and Washington, D.C., $187,000.

As we well know, the cost of living is different here in our rural corner of the world — it’s just one of the things that makes the area so attractive to folks. 

GoBankingRates took into account factors such as grocery costs and average mortgage expenses. Further, it defines the American dream, for households with married couples who have children, as 50% of household income going toward essentials, 30% to discretionary spending and 20% to savings and debt repayment — earning double the annual cost of living.

The median household income in Pennsylvania stands at $73,824, according to a 2023 estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey — the latest available. For married couples specifically, the median household income in Pennsylvania is higher at $111,664.

So, how are you fixed? Livin’ the dream?