What is the standard of living in the USA?

Good

From a financial “I get to eat all the food I want” perspective: great, but from a spiritual “Im a part of the Earth and the rest of the Universe” perspective: terrible. Fragmented and self centered when it should be whole and universally centered. Fearful when it should be open. Things are getting better in dribs and drabs with the good people that can be found but as of today, generally speaking, the spiritual, open-hearted psyche of this country is in need of some tender loving care. Yet again the same is true for any self-centered culture, and america is not alone in that. At least Canada gives people the right to enjoy creative alpha-brainwave states induced by naturally growing plants, if you catch my drift.

Here’s the (disputed) wikipedia article for the Standard of Living in the USA.

It’s a little tough to accurately measure, because it fluctuates from region to region. Along the western coast there tends to be much higher costs of living compared to, say, the Midwest or New England states.

Some baseline stats to go by:
-Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour
-A McDonalds big mac meal is a little less than 5 American dollars
-Gas is (Currently) at $2.70 (around where I live) per gallon, which translates to, very roughly, 69 cents per liter. Gas fluctuates quite often, and has hit the 4 dollar per gallon mark in the past.
– Also, A single bedroom apartment in the midwest goes for about $350—$650 a month. It’s quite a range, but there’s a lot of factors. Obviously you may find some that are more or less expensive, but that seems to be the median range.

I wish I could be more help, but the only experience I have is in Pennsylvania and Ohio, which is basically the midwest. You may find things a little different along the coasts or the deep south, so it’d be good to check per region.

It varies a lot. I live in New England and prices seem to be generally higher than they are in the MidWest. Gas is around $2.85 a gallon where I live, and two-bedroom apartments can be found for as little as $500/month to over $1000 for nice ones. A decent apartment in Boston is almost never less than $1000 unless it’s low-income housing.

Middle class people can usually afford a car, at least on TV, a computer, cell phones, and often other luxury devices like iPods and laptops. Through scholarship and student loans many people are able to go to college. If you’re on the higher end of the middle class range, you can live very comfortably.

If you don’t have much money or live in a bad area, expect crappy apartments with bad insulation, limited access to healthy food (all the McDonalds and KFC you want, though!) and substandard education options. Public schools in areas like The Bronx (near NYC) and in areas where the majority of the population is made up of poor minorities, public education is usually terrible. Still, most people find a way to have at least one TV and a computer in their house these days. They’re just undereducated and unhealthy.

The USA is a huge country with a huge range of living standards. You’re going to have to be a little more specific in your question if you want accurate results.

I am with @ParaParaYukiko here; it varies considerably.

As a former New Englander now living in Seattle, I am used to rents not less than $650 for a roach-infested closet and $800+ for anyplace you’d want to actually live, and gas in the $2.80–3.10 range.

Back East we also had to pay a lot for heat, and since we moved to Seattle, we don’t pay for plowing, or pumping the septic system, and registering a car costs a lot less, However, we now pay 9.5% sales tax, car insurance is mandatory (NH is about hte only place where you don’t need it), and food is pricier, so it’s about hte same cost overall.

To put things in perspective, if I lived in the South or Midwest on my current wages, I could have a comfortable small house and a stay-at-home wife. As it stands, my wife works and we split the bills on a 2 bedroom apartment with a roommate so that we can afford an actual life rather than a mere existence.

My friends in other parts of the country are amazed how expensive New England is. There is a reason that WA state has a minimum wage that is higher than the Federal minimum wage, but in NH, there is no such luck. Try getting an $850 apartment with a %150+/month heating bill on a single $7.50/hour income! While I never had it nearly that bad, many do. It takes at least $36K/year to live in most parts of NH, and that assumes that you are willing to eat beans and rice and not go out more than once a month.

Lawrence County Tennessee is a rural county I live in. Things here are cheaper than most any other place I know of in the U.S. Unemployment is high. The public schools suck because the school district has one of the lowest paid teacher salaries in the state. There is a sales tax but no state income tax. I pay $200 a month for a one bedroom loft apartment utilities included. T.V.A. electricity is the cheapest in the country. A cheaper one bedroom apartment is 200–400 a month. 2 bed aprtments are 250–500. You can have a small one or two bedroom home for 250–600. A newer 3bed-2bath garage home on an acre of land can be had for 60–120 thousand. I make 2 grand a month and spend only half of that every month. My expenses if I lived in Nashville Tennessee for the same type of lifestyle would be closer to 1500–1800.

Depends what strata of society you’re from…..