Long Island is 2nd Most Expensive Place in U.S. to Raise a Family

$103,606.

That’s how much a family of four needs each year just to get by on Long Island.

If that seems like a lot, it is. The Economic Policy Institute–a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank–released a report on Wednesday that ranks Long Island as the second most expensive place in the nation to raise a family.

Washington D.C. is the only place more expensive ($106,493 for a family of two parents and two children), according to the report, which analyzed 618 metro areas and includes a family budget calculator that measures the income a family needs in order to attain “a secure yet modest standard of living.”

A family of four on Long Island needs, on average, $19,356 each year for housing, $24,130 for children care, $16,822 for taxes and $13,881 for other necessities.

For those with more than two children, things get even uglier. A family of two parents and four children on Long Island needs $127,603 a year just to pay all the bills.

“This does not mean a middle-class lifestyle,” Elise Gould, a senior economist with EPI, told MarketWatch. “This is just living, no savings.”

Here are the top 10 most expensive places to raise a family in the country:

1. Washington D.C.
2. Long Island
3. Westchester County, N.Y.
4. New York City
5. Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.
6. Honolulu, Hawaii
7. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, N.Y.
8. Ithaca, N.Y.
9. San Francisco, Ca.
10. Danbury, Conn.

Read the full EPI report here.

Photo: Instagram/CreativeCommons