cost_of_living_family_budget_county_family_type
County × family_type grain. EPI Family Budget Calculator 2026 edition. 10 family types (1p0c–1p4c, 2p0c–2p4c), 3,143 counties. All budget components annual in 2025 dollars: housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, other necessities, taxes. Includes total_cost_index (national=100 per family type) and budget_to_income_ratio.
overview
3,143 counties x 10 family types = 31,350 rows. EPI Family Budget covers all US counties. 10 family configurations: 1p0c through 1p4c, 2p0c through 2p4c.
current vintage — 2026 Edition (data reflect 2025 dollars)
history — EPI Family Budget editions from 2013 to present at source
source & licensing
fields
| name | type | definition |
|---|---|---|
| _ingested_at | timestamp | Timestamp when this record was written to BigQuery.Pipeline metadata field. |
| _ingestor_version | string | Version of the ingestor script that produced this record.Pipeline metadata field. |
| _reliability_tier | string | Data quality tier (A/B/C) assigned at ingestion.Pipeline metadata field. |
| _source_dataset_id | string | Internal dataset identifier linking to meta.datasets.Pipeline metadata field. |
| budget_to_income_ratio | float64 · share (0–1) | Ratio of the total annual family budget cost to median family income, calculated as total_annual divided by median_family_income. Values above 1.0 indicate that the typical family cannot afford the basic budget; higher values indicate greater economic hardship. |
| childcare_annual | int64 · dollars (nominal) | Annual cost of childcare for the specified family type. Equals zero for family types without children. Higher values reflect greater childcare market costs in the county. |
| country_id | string | ISO alpha-2 country code (always 'US' for domestic tables). |
| county_idkey | string | 5-character FIPS code identifying the county.Joins dim.counties on county_id. |
| county_name | string | Human-readable county name corresponding to county_id. |
| family_typekey | string | Categorical label describing the household composition used in the family budget estimate, such as single adult, married couple with children, or single parent with children. |
| food_annual | int64 · dollars (nominal) | Annual cost of food at home and away from home for the specified family type, based on a modest but adequate food plan. Higher values indicate greater food expenditure needs. |
| healthcare_annual | int64 · dollars (nominal) | Annual out-of-pocket healthcare costs for the specified family type, including premiums, copays, and other medical expenses. Higher values indicate greater healthcare cost burden. |
| housing_annual | int64 · dollars (nominal) | Annual cost of housing for the specified family type, including rent or mortgage-equivalent and utilities. Higher values indicate greater housing cost burden. |
| median_family_income | float64 · dollars (nominal) | Median annual income for families of the specified type in the county, used as a benchmark to assess budget affordability. Higher values indicate greater typical earning capacity. |
| other_necessities_annual | int64 · dollars (nominal) | Annual cost of other basic necessities for the specified family type, such as clothing, personal care, and household supplies, not captured in other budget categories. |
| state_id | string | 2-character FIPS code identifying the state.Joins dim.states on state_id. |
| taxes_annual | int64 · dollars (nominal) | Annual tax burden for the specified family type, including federal and state income taxes and payroll taxes, net of applicable credits. Higher values indicate greater tax liability. |
| total_annual | int64 · dollars (nominal) | Total annual family budget cost, calculated as the sum of housing, food, transportation, healthcare, other necessities, childcare, and taxes. Represents the minimum income needed for a modest but adequate standard of living. |
| total_cost_index | float64 · index (base year=100) | Index expressing the county's total annual family budget cost relative to a national or baseline reference value. Higher values indicate a more expensive county relative to the baseline. |
| transportation_annual | int64 · dollars (nominal) | Annual cost of transportation for the specified family type, including vehicle ownership or public transit expenses. Higher values indicate greater transportation cost burden. |
| yearkey | int64 | Reference year of the observation. |
joins
how to use this table
EPI compiles county-level cost components from authoritative sources: HUD FMR (housing), USDA Low-Cost Food Plan (food), BLS CES adjusted by region (transportation), MEPS-IC (healthcare), CCDBG state averages (childcare), and IRS estimates (taxes). Components summed to total annual budget by family configuration.
Sub-county geographic variation (county-level only); luxury or actual spending (this is modest-but-adequate threshold); historical comparison without inflation adjustment across editions.
Childcare costs use state averages (county detail not available from CCDBG). Edition-to-edition methodology revisions can affect trend interpretation.