Stretching a paycheck beyond the basics is becoming harder for many Americans. After covering taxes and essential expenses, the disposable income that is left impacts a household's ability to save, invest or stay afloat. But high prices of housing, food, childcare and more can keep households struggling, leaving many families with little or nothing to spare at the end of the month. Furthermore, in most large U.S. cities, the median household income falls short of what's needed to support a small family — sometimes by up to tens of thousands of dollars per year.

Keeping this in mind, SmartAsset subtracted the local costs of necessities from the median household annual income in 100 of the largest U.S. counties. Costs for households with two working adults and one child, as well as households with a single adult, were compared.

Key Findings

Top 10 Counties With the Most Disposable Income for a Family

Top 10 Counties With the Most Disposable Income for a Single Adult

10 Counties With the Least Disposable Income for a Family

10 Counties With the Least Disposable Income for a Single Adult

Data and Methodology

This SmartAsset study considered 100 of the largest U.S. counties for which data was available. Median household income data comes from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps data for 2024. Data for the cost of necessities for a single adult, as well as two working adults with one child, comes from MIT Living Wage Calculator as of February 2024.

This story was produced by SmartAsset and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.