The housing estimate seems quite high for my area as well, particularly for the single adult category. It was using a figure that I'd expect for a nice 1br in a trendy area. Someone under financial pressure would probably be renting with a roommate in a less nice area instead, likely paying a third to half the figure the calculator cites. I also agree on the transportation cost being way out of whack. For the adult plus one child cost they cite for my area, I could finance a new $40k car plus pay for insurance and gas.