In the last election, people complained about the economy being bad while politicians said the GDP was rising. Both were correct, but talking about different things.

Mississippi has a similar GDP per capita to Germany, but the quality of life in Germany is far better. GDP does not measure what normal people care about. These metrics are here to address that issue.

• The effectiveness of an economy is based on whether an average person can satisfy their needs, not a number being high
• Quality of goods used to satisfy needs explains difference between more developed economies. (A 4 bedroom house in America is nicer than a 4 bedroom house in India, or even just nicer areas within America). Economic Efficacy does not measure quality, only if the goods are affordable.
• A person's needs are the following categories:
  • Survival: food, shelter, water, clothing (which we will omit since cost of clothing is dependent on taste, some people can wear the same clothes for years), childcare, healthcare
  • Basic Needs(try living in society without these): Electricity, Internet, Mobile Plans, Car

1. New Hampshire: $56,322.28
2. Maryland: $53,294.03
3. North Dakota: $50,837.04
4. Virginia: $50,437.94
5. Washington: $50,353.52
6. Alaska: $50,171.06
7. New Jersey: $50,000.38
8. South Dakota: $49,259.62
9. Utah: $47,511.62
10. Minnesota: $47,367.16

1. South Dakota: 28.10%
2. North Dakota: 28.50%
3. Ohio: 29.30%
4. Missouri: 29.30%
5. Iowa: 30.70%
6. Kansas: 31.40%
7. Wyoming: 32.60%
8. Nebraska: 32.70%
9. Utah: 32.80%
10. Arkansas: 33.00%

• Doesn't account for one off necessary purchases, such as a new phone, clothes, etc.
• Or other expenditures that aren't necessary but are important such as investment/savings, extra education, extracurriculars
• People who are parents make more, which could happen because people who are financially well off are more likely to start a family
• Doesn't factor owning a home, since it's harder to calculate a monthly cost for it given variables like downpayment
• Does not include child tax credits per state, that would be its own project
• Some data was very hard to find, so for some data we had to rely on news articles that didn't cite sources for its data.

• Median Gross Family Income - 4 people
• Median Gross Income - Single Person
• Yearly Cost of Rent for a Four Bedroom Home
• Yearly Cost of Rent for a Studio
• Yearly Cost of Childcare
• Child Tax Credit based on Average Income of State and one kid under 6 and one kid over
• Yearly Cost of Grocery
• Yearly Cost of Water
• Yearly Cost of Electricity
• Yearly Cost of Internet
• Yearly Cost of Mobile plan (factoring in tax, assuming single line is 60 and 4 lines is 120)
• Yearly Cost of Car+Insurance+Gas
• Yearly Cost of Healthcare

• Total Cost for Family of Four = Yearly 4 Bedroom Rent + (Yearly Childcare * 2) - (Yearly Child Tax Credit) + (Yearly Grocery * 3.5) + (Yearly Water * 4) + (Yearly Electricity * 4) + Yearly Internet + (Yearly Mobile Plan Tax * Mobile Plan Family) + (Yearly Car * 2) + (Yearly Healthcare * 4)
• Total Cost for Single Person = Yearly Studio Rent + Yearly Grocery + Yearly Water + Yearly Electricity + (Yearly Mobile Plan Tax * Mobile Plan Single) + Yearly Internet + Yearly Car + Yearly Healthcare
• Leftover Income for Family of Four = Median Family Income - Total Cost for Family of Four
• Leftover Income for Single Person = Median Single Income - Total Cost for Single Person
• Percent Income Used On Essentials for Family of Four = (Total Cost for Family of Four / Median Family Income) * 100
• Percent Income Used On Essentials for Single Person = (Total Cost for Single Person / Median Single Income) * 100
• Average Percent Income Used On Essentials = (Percent Income Used On Essentials for Family of Four + Percent Income Used On Essentials for Single Person) / 2
• Average Income Leftover = (Leftover Income for Family of Four + Leftover Income for Single Person) / 2

• Median Income: https://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/20240401/bci_data/median_income_table.htm
• Rent: https://rentalrealestate.com/data/rent/new-jersey/
• Cost of Childcare: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/child-care-costs-by-state
• Child Tax Credit: https://dig.abclocal.go.com/ccg/interactives/child-tax-credit-calculator/index.html
• Cost of Groceries: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/grocery-prices-by-state
• Cost of Water: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/water-prices-by-state
• Cost of Electricity: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a
• Cost of Internet: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/servicetitan-initiated-outperform-baird-125506702.html
• Mobile Plan Taxes: https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/wireless-taxes-cell-phone-tax-rates-by-state-2024/
• Cost of a car: https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/car/cost-owning-car-by-state/
• Cost of Healthcare: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/health-care-costs-by-state