With almost eight in ten Americans living paycheck to paycheck, Ringover wanted to find out what it actually takes to afford a decent life in the US.

Taking into account eight expenses — rent, utilities, medical care, food, transport, apparel, recreation and domestic vacation — they worked out how many hours of work it takes to afford the average lifestyle in each of the country's states.

The study found that the average person in the US needs to work 1,372 hours annually, or spend 77.7 percent of their earnings, to maintain a typical lifestyle.

Americans have to work the most hours in Hawaii, where it takes an average of 1,928 hours a year (roughly 192 hours of overtime) to afford the average lifestyle. The Aloha state's poor ranking is thanks to its sky-high cost of living — which also makes it the most expensive place in the country to retire comfortably.

The second- and third-most expensive states to live in are Idaho (1,840 hours) and Mississippi (1,628 hours), respectively.

The most affordable state, on the other hand, is North Dakota, where residents only have to spend 1,042 hours at work per year to maintain the average lifestyle. Following behind are Connecticut (1,050 hours) and West Virginia (1,131 hours).

The disparity between the highest- and lowest-ranking states is starkest when you consider that someone on the median salary in Hawaii would need to work 886 more hours than their North Dakotan counterpart to achieve the same standard of living.

Click images to enlarge

Via Ringover.

[Image credit: Michael Tuszynski]