People living in Hawaii, California and New York are the states most likely to live paycheck to paycheck, even though the states have among the highest income levels.
A new analysis by personal finance site GOBankingRates.com finds that even though Hawaii has the third-highest median household income in the U.S. at $71,223, the cost of food, housing, transportation and utilities per paycheck are the highest in the nation and make it the most likely state where residents live paycheck to paycheck.
What remains after living expenses is $186, or less than 7 percent of each paycheck. Hawaii is the only state with a single-digit percentage of disposable income.
Conversely, the state in which residents are least likely to live paycheck to paycheck is Minnesota.
The median household income there is $67,244, the sixth highest in the U.S.
With housing costs taking up 21 percent of a paycheck, utilities taking up 7 percent and health costs only 3 percent, Minnesota was the only state in the study where the amount remaining after expenses were subtracted topped $1,000.
“Living paycheck to paycheck isn’t necessarily a function of income,” said Cameron Huddleston, GOBankingRates spokesman. “Plenty of upper-income households live hand to mouth because of poor financial habits.”
A separate GOBankingRates survey “found that people earning $100,000 or more were more likely to fear always living paycheck to paycheck than those earning less,” Huddleston said.
On the Net: 808ne.ws/1PBzDqX
Hawaiian marks 5 years of Seoul service
Hawaiian Airlines this month is celebrating its fifth anniversary of service between Honolulu and Seoul.
Since beginning with four-times-a-week service on Jan. 12, 2011, Hawaiian has operated more than 2,800 flights and carried nearly 600,000 guests between Honolulu and Incheon International Airport.
“Korean tourism to Hawaii has more than doubled since we started service, and flights to Seoul continue to be a vital and important part of our network,” said Mark Dunkerley, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian.
Before Hawaiian’s entry the Korean market had long been underserved. In 2010 Hawaii received only 81,758 visitors from South Korea, compared with 178,091 in 2014. Following strong demand from both U.S. and Korean travelers, Hawaiian up-gauged its service to Seoul in the spring of 2014 from a Boeing 767-300ER to the larger A330 aircraft, seating 294 passengers in a three-class cabin, with 18 in first class, 40 in extra-comfort seating and 236 in the main cabin. Operating the larger A330 aircraft added more than 18,300 seats annually to both travel markets. Hawaiian now offers nonstop flights five days a week.
Puerto Rico loses faith in debt plan
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico >> Four months after announcing a grueling five-year plan for reducing the island’s vast debt and reviving economic growth, Puerto Rico’s top economic officials said Monday they had been too optimistic and revised the plan for the worse.
When the government first released its five-year plan in September, it warned creditors that it would need $14 billion of debt relief over that period because it did not have enough money to pay them the total amount due, $28 billion.
In a briefing for journalists Monday, officials said they now expect to need a $16 billion break from creditors.
The officials said they had run updated forecasts for 10 years as well, and things did not get much better.
Over the full 10 years, they said, they would need $24 billion worth of reductions in the total $63 billion in principal and interest that various branches of government owed creditors.
And that is if the structural reforms that Puerto Rico is planning succeed in fostering renewed economic growth. Without such a recovery, the officials said, Puerto Rico would need $34 billion worth of relief from the $63 billion of scheduled payments.
On the Move
Mason Architects has announced that Joy Davidson and Katie Stephens have been promoted to associates from project architects. With MAI for more than 15 years, they have focused on restoration, preservation and revitalization of existing and historic buildings throughout Hawaii. Davidson and Stephens are the first two associates in the firm’s history.
Hawaii State Federal Credit Union has announced the donation of $7,500 to the Hawaii HomeOwnership Center, a resource helping residents become first-time homeowners. This is the second year that the Hawaii State FCU is supporting HHOC in its mission to provide residents the knowledge and tools to become homebuyers.
