When studying the viability of moving to the United States and investing in a franchise, many people ask the same question: how much do you need to earn per year for a reasonable standard of living? There's no single number, but there is a useful reference — and it often surprises those who imagine they'd need to earn much more.

First of all, the answer depends on each family and, above all, on the location. The cost of living changes a lot from region to region. To keep the same standard, the income needed in an expensive city like San Francisco is very different from a city like Orlando. Housing and daily expenses drive that difference.

The reference: median household income

An indicator widely used by the American government itself is the median household income. It gives a good idea of what a family earns, on average, per year in the US. Two concepts worth understanding:

  • Median: the point where half the households are below that value and half above. It represents the "middle" family well, without being pulled by very high or very low incomes;
  • Household income: the sum of what residents over 15 in the same home earn during the year, before taxes.
The number

In the Census Bureau's data for 2023, the median household income in the US was around US$ 80,610 per year (before taxes). It's a broad number covering the whole country — and usually smaller than many imagine when thinking about living in the United States.

Look by state and by city

Since the national number is a general average, check the indicator by state and city when evaluating where the family intends to move. That helps estimate each location's cost and choose a destination coherent with your budget and type of business.

Careful with direct conversion

An important caveat: you can't compare this income with your home country's in a one-to-one conversion. Income and cost of living go together, and each country has its own reality. What matters is the relation between what your business can generate and what your family's standard of living costs in the chosen city.

How this enters the franchise planning

This reference helps answer a practical question: can the business sustain the family's standard of living? When we analyze franchises for your profile, we cross the model's earning potential (real numbers, like Item 19 of the FDD) with the cost of living of your target region — so the plan closes with margin, not on hope.