Grad student stipend checking in. $21k/year in a large metro area (although not quite on the level of SF/NYC expensive). Median household income in my city is ~$100k/year.
Yes this is "enough" but no, it is not enough (especially after having worked and lived for a few years in a medium/low cost of living city).
That being said, $5k/month for "basic expenses" is definitely ridiculous. NYC/SF COL is like 30% more expensive than where I'm living, not a full 2.8x more expensive for basic expenses.
Edit: Also worth noting that in this context the $5k/month is spendable, so in SF for example this translates to about $82k/year pre-tax income, which according to the 2019 census is well above the median individual income of ~$52k.
Yes this is "enough" but no, it is not enough (especially after having worked and lived for a few years in a medium/low cost of living city).
That being said, $5k/month for "basic expenses" is definitely ridiculous. NYC/SF COL is like 30% more expensive than where I'm living, not a full 2.8x more expensive for basic expenses.
Edit: Also worth noting that in this context the $5k/month is spendable, so in SF for example this translates to about $82k/year pre-tax income, which according to the 2019 census is well above the median individual income of ~$52k.