income, less than 5% of households in the state live “comfortably” by CB standards. I think we conflate “comfortable” with wealthy.

As a society, I think we’d do well to re-define what comfortable is and what our needs are. Social media (this site included) has exaggerated what a family needs to be well provided for. This has resulted in a lot of providers feeling inadequate and stressed to the max in pursuit of chasing these unrealistic expectations.

If your kid has a roof over their head, food to eat, and access to medical care, then lots of quality time with parents who aren’t stressed out all the time is a much healthier home environment than the new cars, designer house, club sports, and vacations that we see as the “norm” in media.

If you are working hard to provide for the needs of your kids, and are prioritizing time with them, you are already way ahead of the Jonses.