How Expensive is LA? $73,000 Annually, Just to Get By

Los Angeles is an expensive place to live, though we’re often told it’s better than San Francisco or New York. The liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute surveys the region each year and comes up with a family budget -- the amount of income necessary to cover health care, housing, food and taxes. Just the essentials, no saving. For a family with two adults and two children, that comes to $73,000 each year. And yet, many Angelenos are falling short. Over two-thirds of Latinos make less than the family budget threshold. Over one-third of whites are missing the mark. And the big culprits are housing, health and childcare.