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The only way I could reasonably see that is if those people bought houses when rates went up. I live in a high cost of living area and $150k would not be living paycheck to paycheck for my family (wife, 2 kids, and a dog). I guess I also don't have expensive tastes.
Define high cost living area. Wife with 2 kids and a pet, I assume you're going to need at least a 3 bedroom condo for a modest living arrangement.
Where I live, southern California, the average cost for a 3br condo is $4k per month. Mortgages at this time would be way more (standard 20% down).
Someone else estimated 150k is around 8.7k a month after taxes. So that's already almost half your income just for a roof over your head.
Include the expense of kids, student loans, car loans, health insurance, etc. Yeah, paycheck to paycheck isn't unrealistic.
Not everyone was lucky enough to be in the financial place in their life to buy a house 5 years ago.
I'm gonna go ahead and tell you, that's a bit high for after tax.
I make 172/year and after tax and benefits and what not in South Carolina, I'm at 8.6 a month, which is less than the 150 estimate. So in an average tax state and making 20k less? Might be more like 7.5-8.
Edit: granted of course, 401k contribution can change things a bunch
My family is very similar. We aren't quite paycheck to paycheck, but things feel a lot tighter than they did before - we make 190 ish combined, which ends up being about 9k a month. We have one paid off car.
Mortgage - $2500 Utilities - $800 (electric, water, plain Internet and mnvo cell phone plan) Daughter's school - $1200/mo (obv this is a "non essential", but it's pretty cheap for a year round private school) Prescriptions - $1200/mo with insurance (although this usually comes in a single lump in January. Insurance also refuses to cover a few essentials which we pay out of pocket for, about $100/mo) Student loans - $800/mo
Which leaves us with around $2500/mo for entertainment, car/house repair (it's 40 years old and needs new things like a roof or hot water heater from time to time), groceries, any vacations, etc. My wife and I both have chronic conditions which are exhausting to deal with so we get house cleaning for $300/mo as well.
We are doing fine, but it seems like an exhausting cycle to try and build savings, and if we ever had to buy another car I don't know how we would swing an extra $500 payment every month, with what it seems vehicles cost these days.
All this to say, while we are ok, I have no idea how families making under 100k get by.
Most people are not paying $1200/month for childcare or $300/month for a maid. They also probably put a lot less toward retirement.
That said, good on you for recognizing that the average household is struggling.
Sure, for school age kids like my daughter that is true, but I will push back that toddler and infant childcare is, on average, extremely expensive.
If you don't have a grandparent or other relative to watch your kid, in a state like North Carolina you will be forking out around $800-900 a month per kid on average.
Which is why publicly funded options for preschool would be life-changing for so many people, especially single mothers and fathers.