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AIPROPX ReportFortune · 2h ago
Gen Z wants to be ‘tradwives.’ New data reveals the exact salary your spouse needs to earn—and in most states it’s under $100K
For many Gen Zers, becoming a “tradwife” is the dream—with even teen girls taking to TikTok and sharing how they’re ditching aspirations of holding down a corporate career, in favor of getting married, having a family, and being supported by a doting partner. But now, research reveals exactly how much a husband (or wife) would need to earn to afford that lifestyle in the U.S.—and perhaps surprisingly, in most states, it’s below six figures.
That’s according to new research from the financial advisory software SmartAsset , which ranked all 50 U.S. states by the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying home to raise a single child.
For the average American family, one parent would need to earn around $80,000 to sustain the other quitting their job to raise one child.
It’s perhaps lower than you’d expect.
Although the researchers say it costs a staggering $40,000 before tax to raise a child, a stay-at-home parent cuts out the single biggest cost: daycare. And of course, the bigger the family, the bigger the salary needed. Plus, this figure is the minimum needed—not counting any extra life extravagances like the annual family holiday, private school, or a bigger home.
Hawaii is the most expensive state to be a stay-at-home-parent—you’d need to earn over $102,000
Some states make the “tradwife” dream a lot more affordable than others.
In West Virginia, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and North Dakota, a single-earning parent could support a stay-at-home spouse for under $71,000 a year—the lowest on the ranking.
Meanwhile, Hawaii sits at the opposite extreme. A single earner there needs to bring in at least $102,773 a year just to cover basic expenses for two adults and a young child. If both parents work instead, the household needs $119,226 between them—and even then, daycare alone runs about $33,363 a year.
California isn’t far behind, requiring a single income of $97,656 to support a stay-at-home parent, and a single earner in Massachusetts can support the family on a slightly lower $97,261.
But be warned: the full American Dream costs a lot more than an $80K salary can support
If you want the American Dream—the house in the suburbs, two children, and a cabriolet in the drive—it’ll cost you millions. Not thousands.
While research shows stay-at-home parents can raise one child on less than $100,000, that figure might be conservative or involve a lot of skimping. That’s because when you take into account needing to buy a home, forking out for kids’ college tuition and maybe even a pet, the price tag explodes.
The financial media site Investopedia has done the math and calculated that achieving those milestones now costs a staggering $4.4 million.
Plus, as inflation squeezes workers in a cost-of-living vise, paired with spiraling housing costs and AI cutting paychecks , the salary it takes to be considered comfortable could keep climbing. Just look at Gen X retirees, a quarter of whom have had to go back to work because the cost of staying retired outpaced what they’d saved for it. Proof that today’s “comfortable” number is no guarantee of comfort a decade from now.”
The income needed for one parent to stay home in each state
Gen ZAmericanGen ZersTikTokU.SSmartAssetIt’sAlthoughPlusHawaiiSomeIn West Virginia
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