nyc: Please don't quote department of labor and statistics. I don't think $30k (and that's a higher-end) a year will cut it in NYC, am I wrong? And thank you in advance for your responses.|||Maybe $8 an hour. 30k in NYC isn't possible unless you have 4 roomates in a 1 bedroom apartment. Rent in Manhattan for a small studio apartment is usually no less than $1600 a month and you couldn't afford that on $30k a year. You would have to live in NJ or outer borroughs and commute 1 hours everyday to/from work. Living meagarily, you'd need: $1600 rent $300 utilities $100 phone/internet $50 transit (public only, no taxis) $200 food (no eating out) $50 entertainment $70 necessities + Misc. expenses So you'd need to take home at LEAST $2,500 a month to struggle to get by. So, after you figure in taxes, you need at least $40k.|||barely over minimum wage