Report finds income needed to afford stay-at-home parent in California

Reporting by Daniella Segura, USA Today Network/Palm Springs Desert Sun

Last week, reports surfaced that the Trump administration is considering a plan that would allow some married couples with a stay-at-home parent to receive childcare subsidies.

Under the proposal, some families could receive about $9,000 per child annually through a Health and Human Services Department fund created in the 1990s for low-income and working-class parents, according to a New York Times report published Saturday, Sept. 5.

The administration is drafting a rule that would make married couples with one stay-at-home parent in certain income brackets eligible for the benefit, people familiar with the discussions told the Times.

But how affordable is it to be a stay-at-home parent in 2026?

That’s the question SmartAsset, a financial technology company, set out to answer with its annual report, which used data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator to determine how much annual income is needed to support a household with one stay-at-home parent in each state.

“The results show where single-income households can sustain this arrangement most affordably — and where doing so requires substantially higher earnings,” SmartAsset said in its report.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, California ranked among the states requiring the highest incomes to support a family with a stay-at-home parent.

Here’s what the study found for California and the rest of the nation.

What report found for California

California ranked No. 2 in the United States for the annual income needed to support a two-parent household with one child and a stay-at-home parent, trailing only Hawaii, according to SmartAsset’s report.

In the Golden State, the working parent must earn $101,213 per year.

If both parents work, the family brings in additional income but also incurs child care costs. In that scenario, each parent must earn $61,194 annually, or the household must earn $122,387 combined, the report found.

States with highest income needed to support a family with a stay-at-home parent

Hawaii ranked as the state requiring the highest income to support a family with one stay-at-home parent.

“One working parent needs to earn $106,496 to support a partner and one child in the Aloha State,” SmartAsset said.

Here are the states where the highest income is needed to support a family with a stay-at-home parent, according to SmartAsset.

No. 1: Hawaii
- One working parent earnings needed: $106,496
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $63,066
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $126,131
No. 2: California
- One working parent earnings needed: $101,213
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $61,194
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $122,387
No. 3: Massachusetts
- One working parent earnings needed: $99,965
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $65,749
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $131,498
No. 4: New York
- One working parent earnings needed: $94,827
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $58,490
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $116,979
No. 5: New Jersey
- One working parent earnings needed: $91,790
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $57,907
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $115,814
No. 6: Connecticut
- One working parent earnings needed: $91,083
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $59,322
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $118,643
No. 7: Washington
- One working parent earnings needed: $90,106
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $55,848
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $111,696
No. 8: Alaska
- One working parent earnings needed: $89,544
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $54,995
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $109,990
No. 9: Oregon
- One working parent earnings needed: $88,899
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $56,534
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $113,069
No. 9: New Hampshire
- One working parent earnings needed: $88,504
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $54,642
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $109,283

States where lowest income needed to support a family with a stay-at-home parent

SmartAsset found that Southern states are the most affordable for single-income families, with Arkansas being the most affordable, with a required income of $68,869 for the working parent.

Here are the states where the lowest income is needed to support a family with a stay-at-home parent, according to the report.

No. 50: Arkansas
- One working parent earnings needed: $68,869
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $40,352
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $80,704
No. 49: Mississippi
- One working parent earnings needed: $70,054
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $39,520
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $79,040
No. 48: Kentucky
- One working parent earnings needed: $70,179
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $40,518
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $81,037
No. 47: West Virginia
- One working parent earnings needed: $70,283
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $41,475
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $82,950
No. 46: North Dakota
- One working parent earnings needed: $71,219
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $42,910
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $85,821
No. 45: Oklahoma
- One working parent earnings needed: $71,365
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $42,931
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $85,862
No. 44: Louisiana
- One working parent earnings needed: $71,406
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $41,288
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $82,576
No. 43: Missouri
- One working parent earnings needed: $72,862
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $44,595
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $89,190
No. 42: Texas
- One working parent earnings needed: $72,925
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $42,515
- Two working parents’ family income needed: $85,030
No. 41: Tennessee
- One working parent earnings needed: $72,946
- Two working parents’ earnings needed, each: $41,538
- Two working parents family income needed: $83,075

Report’s methodology

SmartAsset used data as of February 2026 from the MIT Living Wage Calculator to determine how much annual earnings are needed to support a household with one stay-at-home parent.

The company said it compared “the aggregate annual living wage of a household with two working adults and one child to that of one working adult, one stay-at-home parent and one child.”

Costs also include food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities.

“These figures are statewide point estimates from a single cost model and will differ by county, child age, and household tax/benefit details,” the company said.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun.