Life Legally Single | Single-Income Finance

The traditional single-income household has become “a bygone era,” according to financial experts—but for unwedded Americans living alone, the crisis runs deeper than struggling dual-earner couples realize.

A recent CNBC analysis reveals that even six-figure earners now describe living on one income as “nearly impossible,” citing skyrocketing costs for housing, healthcare, and essential expenses. But while the report focused on married couples where both spouses work by necessity, solo households face what economists are calling a “double jeopardy”: one income to cover all expenses, with no partner to split costs or provide financial backup.

“We used to be in this golden age where you could own a home, a car, and get by on a single income—that is a bygone era,” Bankrate economic analyst Sarah Foster told CNBC. For the unwedded, that era never returned.

The Numbers Tell a Stark Story

According to 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, about half of all married-couple families now have both spouses employed. In families with children, two-thirds of households require dual incomes to maintain a middle-class lifestyle.

But single-person households—which now represent the fastest-growing household type in the United States—must cover the same soaring costs with just one paycheck and no ability to share the burden.

Housing costs alone illustrate the gap. The median existing single-family home price hit $412,500 in 2024, requiring a monthly mortgage payment of approximately $2,570 for typical first-time buyer terms. To afford that payment along with taxes and insurance, a household needs an annual income of at least $126,700.

“Only 6 million of the nation’s nearly 46 million renters can meet this benchmark,” according to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. For singles, the math is even more unforgiving: that $126,700 must come from one person, while married couples can combine two incomes to reach the threshold.

The Gig Economy Erodes Stability—Especially for Singles

Workplace dynamics have fundamentally shifted, making single-income viability even more precarious, according to Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s senior economic analyst.

“There’s been a fracturing of both job security and a sense of belonging that workers have in the workplace,” Hamrick said. The rise of gig economy work means fewer Americans have sustained, predictable income or workplace benefits—and singles bear this instability alone.

While married couples can hedge against income volatility by having two earners in different industries or job types, solo households have no such buffer. If a single person’s hours are cut, their freelance contracts dry up, or they lose employer-sponsored health insurance, there’s no partner’s income or benefits to fall back on.

Traditional pensions have largely disappeared, leaving both single and married workers responsible for funding their own retirement. But singles must save for retirement while covering 100% of current living expenses on one income—a mathematical challenge that married dual-earners simply don’t face.

Inflation Hits Singles Harder

Since 2020, health insurance premiums for family coverage have jumped more than 25%, outpacing inflation. Child care and college tuition have increased more than 5% annually. But singles face their own version of this affordability crisis.

According to the most recent Consumer Expenditure Survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average single person spends approximately $4,641 per month on expenses—with housing consuming the largest portion at roughly $1,684 monthly, or 36% of budget.

Singles devote a higher percentage of income to housing than married couples (31%), yet earn only one salary to cover it. This “single-person penalty” extends across nearly every category: solo diners pay more per person at restaurants, hotel rooms cost the same whether one or two people occupy them, and many subscription services and bulk purchasing discounts favor multi-person households.

The Hidden Cost of Going Solo

Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, noted that rising costs for child care and healthcare “necessitated more hours per family” in dual-earner households. But singles already work full-time and have no additional household labor to deploy.

The result is what financial planners are calling the “singles squeeze”: single-income households face the same or higher per-person costs as couples, but with half the earning power and none of the economies of scale that come with shared housing, utilities, transportation, and bulk grocery shopping.

For workers in the gig economy—which includes rideshare drivers, freelance writers, home health aides, and millions of others without traditional employment—the instability is magnified. Without predictable hours, employer benefits, or paid time off, even full-time work doesn’t guarantee stable income.

“If you are part of the gig economy, there’s a tremendous amount of insecurity,” Hamrick said. Singles in precarious employment have no safety net beyond their own savings.

What This Means for the Unwedded

While the CNBC report highlighted the end of the single-breadwinner family model, the data reveals an even starker reality for Americans who are legally single by choice or circumstance.

The same economic forces making dual incomes necessary for married couples—soaring housing costs, expensive healthcare, eroding job security—hit solo households with compounded force. Yet policy discussions and financial planning advice remain overwhelmingly focused on couples and families, leaving singles to navigate an economic landscape designed for dual-income units.

As Scott Winship, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, noted, increased workforce opportunities for women have contributed to the rise of dual-earner households. But for the unwedded, there is no second earner to add—just the stubborn arithmetic of one income trying to cover expenses built for two.

The “bygone era” of single-income viability isn’t just history for traditional families. For the growing population of single-person households, it’s a daily financial reality with no easy solutions in sight.