32 all the way up to 50? Are there kids in the area that really are getting that now? I was offered 32 at my first job after graduation 6 years ago and that was one of the higher offers. I was ECSTATIC! Just goes to show how things change as far as inflation and whatnot. I think my rent in my first place was $700/month (in Frederick County-most of us here work closer to DC-but to DC itself, probably a 40 mile commute, or more) and I was doing really well on that salary. By the time I was 3 years out of school, I couldn't even IMAGINE how I would survive on 32 a year anymore. I think NOW I'd be fine with that, but hubby is also making WAY more than what he was when he first started. I dont know where Im going with this-guess its just wild to see how things change so quickly

I would say the $32-$50K range is pretty accurate. I went to the DC area a year out of college and started out at a little less than that. I was OK, but I was also sharing a crappy apartment with two (and for awhile, three) other people. But we do this stuff when we're young. :-)

Towards the end of my DC "adventure," I had moved up quite a bit in salary, but I also lived in a 1BR apartment by myself, so rent was a good bit higher. I was still able to pay all the bills, but I wasn't really able to save any money (which I realize is not as important to everyone).

Benefits are also an important consideration. Metrochek was a wonderful one for me. How much are they going to have to pay? What do they get out of it? And how consistent are your company's? (mine switched two or three times in the four years I was there, it was kind of a pain, although I understood they were trying to get the best deal for us)

I was making maybe 23K at my first job out of school. But I did get benefits (medical) and Metrochek (whoo hoo!). I am making more than that now, with benefits (dental, visual and medical), a longer commute (not really public trans friendly), rent, utilities, gas, etc, etc. I would be able to save if I was making about $10k more, but que sera, sera. My job is stable (I work for county government) and reliable. I just wish it paid more, lol.

Good Salary
 

I agree with my brother Mystic Cat. It is going to heavily depend on what industry, degree and geographical location you are in. Also, would you be out of college with a Bachelor's, Master's, doctorate, JD etc? There are too many variables to consider. Another piece of the equation is do you have networking contacts in the real world that could help you land you a good job? Cost of living is huge.

I grew up in the DC metro area and moved back after I graduated from undergrad in 2007. I'd say the majority of people my age (24) in the DC area are living a bit outside their means only because of the cost of living here. My rent is $1,615 for a teeny little place with my boyfriend. A girl in our complex graduated from the same school as I did just a year before me and she said that her rent was 60% of her salary (I think it's supposed to be 30% according to traditional budgeting.) I barely make any money because I haven't gotten my masters yet, so I can only be an assistant right now, so rent is pretty much the only thing I spend money on. The recession is scaring the crap out of me because I'm basically realizing that I will never actually be able to afford to live the way I grew up in this area. I'd say that something decent for a recent college grad in the DC Metro area would be between 32 and 40. A good salary would be 40+ for someone as young as me. I'm going to go cry about not having money for food now. (how's that for a flounce?)

Yikes is exactly what I thought. She was living in a one bedroom place until she felt ready to move in with her boyfriend. Now that they live together they split rent, which is much more reasonable. I couldn't fathom not living with a roommate in this area. It's really absurd. She definitely didn't want to live above her means. Our places here really are nice, but not that nice. It's the kind of area where you have to pay a lot just to not share your apartment with mice and cockroaches. Hahaha.

I live in DC, too -- I'd be surprised if the majority of people around our age aren't spending close to 50% of their salary on rent. It's hella expensive to live here. I was ECSTATIC to find our current place for $1500 a month.

I felt very posh to be making 30k at my first job out of school since I was surrounded by Hill staffers making 25k (I had one friend who got paid 18k to work on the Hill :(). I do make considerably more than that now.

This is a neat website!

I think that's fairly accurate for most college graduates who live in major cities (NYC, Boston, DC, San Francisco, etc.). You definitely start out spending a ridiculous percentage of your salary on rent. It was certainly true for myself and my friends, except for those people who went into banking or finance. I had a fairly decent-paying job out of college, and people on here would still probably be surprised about what percentage of my income went to rent.

I think people who don't start out in major metropolitan areas have a really hard time understanding it. You just find ways to make it work.

wow, i was going to say that i expect to make at the very least 40k. I mean hell I can make that without a degree at the current moment, but the correlation of experience, having the degree will pay a lot more as the years progress.

Again, depends on where you are and what you're doing. If you're going to be working in a major city (NYC, Boston, DC, San Francisco, etc.) in certain professions (banking, business, law, etc.), 40k is on the low end.

yeah, if i didn't convey that, i meant that to say, yeah, if i just graduated, i expect to be on the low end. by the time i retire, i hope that figure to be about 70-80k at least. i dont plan on being rich, but i do plan on being comfortable.

She probably wasn't deliberately "living above her means." $1600 in DC isn't a luxury condo! Housing in cities is expensive, and like someone said, you might have to pay a lot more just to be within a reasonable commute to your office (especially if you don't have a car), to live in a safe neighborhood, and to have a clean apartment. Even if you have several roommates, your rent in a city like DC, Boston, NYC, or SF is going to be high.

I suspect, and Mel and KSigkid might be able to back me up here, that the entry-level salaries in big cities are a little depressed. Not saying that they're low--they're just not that high, especially if you have a degree of any sort. I know what I was making with a master's degree when I first started working, and it was embarassing. I actually managed to live comfortably--I paid for everything in cash, put money in savings, and was able to throw money into my 401(k). Now I make much more than that, after only 3.5 years of working. I think the low salaries are a way to weed people out who aren't that committed. One small comfort in the low salary/high rent conundrum is that, for the first few years out on your own, most of your friends are in the same position. It's funny to look back and see how we all "grew up."