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Yes, in most cases it’s illegal to check someone else’s credit report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal statute that defines and limits who can receive credit-related information. The act lists legal reasons why someone’s credit can be checked; therefore, it is illegal for an individual or organization to check someone’s credit report for any other purpose.

We’ll do a deep dive into when it’s OK to run a credit check on someone, and what to do if you suspect someone has pulled your credit report without permission.

Can Anyone Check Your Credit?

The short answer is no. Legally speaking, a person or organization can check your credit only under certain circumstances. Someone either needs to have what’s called “permissible purpose” or have your permission and cooperation in the process for the credit check to be considered legal.

Who Can Access Your Credit Report?

People and organizations that can legally access your credit report under certain circumstances include the following:

•   Banks and other lenders

•   Utility companies

•   Insurance companies

•   Landlords

•   Employers

Here’s more about each

Banks and Other Lenders

A financial institute can check someone’s credit in connection with credit-related transactions, such as when they apply for a mortgage or car loan. Note that section 609(g) of the FCRA requires financial institutions that arrange mortgage loans and use credit scores in their decision-making to provide the credit score and additional information to the applicant.

Utility Companies

Although it may not be commonly thought of in this way, applying for utility service is a form of credit. So when someone requests service from an electric company, the utility will likely check the person’s credit history. If the individual doesn’t have at least a fair credit score, the company can request a deposit or even deny service.

Insurance Companies

Insurance companies have permission to review an applicant’s credit information. Note that companies must also comply with state laws as they use the credit data to underwrite policies.

Landlords

The Federal Trade Commission notes that landlords have the right to review consumer credit reports when someone applies to rent from them or renews a lease. A landlord must certify to the credit bureau (such as Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion) that they will only use this information for rental purposes.

Employers

A potential employer can check an applicant’s credit report, although the company must give the applicant notice of their intent and get written permission. State laws vary regarding an employer’s ability to use this information as part of a hiring decision.

When Is It Legal to Run a Credit Report on Someone?

There are a handful of legal reasons to run a credit report on someone.

Permissible Purpose

This umbrella term used in the FCRA describes when a credit reporting agency can provide a credit report.

Proxy Ordering

“Proxy” is a legal term for someone with the authority to represent someone else. The only instance that isn’t proxy ordering is when a consumer requests their own credit report.

To pull your report, a proxy will need to get answers to questions that only you should know — information that comes directly from your credit report. This provides an extra layer of protection to ensure that your permission is freely being given.

Deceased Spouse

An individual can send a letter to a credit agency requesting the credit report of a deceased spouse. The surviving spouse will need to provide information about both parties so that the agency can verify identities and ensure that it’s OK to provide the credit report.

During Mortgage Underwriting

The FCRA notes that a financial institution can obtain a credit report for “extending, reviewing, and collecting credit.” This applies to mortgage underwriting as well as other types of loans.

Screening Job Applicants

With permission, an employer can request and review a credit report for the purpose of “evaluating a consumer for employment, promotion, reassignment or retention as an employee.”

During Insurance Underwriting

An insurance company can check a person’s credit report, with permission, as part of the underwriting process for a policy. The FCRA delves into specifics for different types of insurance: life, health, homeowners, etc.

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Evaluating Prospective Tenants

The FCRA states that a potential landlord can pull a credit report with the prospective tenant’s permission.

Court-Appointed Guardians

Court-appointed guardians can request a copy of their ward’s credit report by mail. They must provide information about themselves as well as the ward.

What to Do if Someone Pulls Your Credit Without Permission

Contact the organization that pulled your credit to rule out that it was done in error. Then contact the three credit bureaus and request that any hard credit inquiries be deleted from your credit report.

You can also submit a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (visit https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/), and ask for any problems associated with the inquiry to be resolved.

Who Can Check Your Credit Without Permission?

Government agencies may check your credit report to process an application for a license, to determine if you qualify for public assistance, or to calculate what a person can pay in child support, among other reasons.

If you already receive credit from a company, it may periodically check your credit report. Language giving them permission is likely in their terms and conditions. Debt collectors may also get access to information on credit reports.

Recommended: What Is a Tri-Merge Credit Report?

How to Know if Your Credit Was Checked

All hard inquiries will appear on your credit report for two years, so you can find the information there. Soft checks may or may not appear. Each year, you can get a free copy of your credit report — and find out your credit score for free — via AnnualCreditReport.com.

If you’re concerned about credit checks, consider signing up for a credit monitoring service.

What qualifies as credit monitoring varies from service to service; look for one that sends out alerts for new hard inquiries.

How a Credit Check Affects Your Credit Score

A soft inquiry will not hurt your credit score even if it appears on your report. A hard inquiry can lower the score by up to five points. Although the inquiry will remain on your credit report for two years, it will stop affecting your credit score after 12 months. Applying for several credit accounts in a relatively short amount of time may pose a greater risk. (Find out more about what affects your credit score.)

Can You Stop Someone From Getting Your Credit Report?

You can freeze your credit at all three bureaus, which will prevent them from sharing information with businesses that make inquiries. However, if you want to apply for a loan or otherwise conduct a transaction that requires a credit check, you will need to unfreeze your credit.

The Takeaway

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides legal guidelines on who can and can’t check consumer credit reports. Certain individuals can check your credit with your permission, including landlords and employers. Banks, insurers, lenders, and utility companies may also pull a credit report if you’ve applied for credit or service with them. In some circumstances, government agencies may request your credit report without your permission. In general, an average citizen cannot check someone else’s credit report unless they are serving as a legal proxy.

Want to keep an eye on changes in your credit report? Consider downloading a money tracker app, which can alert you to fluctuations.

Take control of your finances with SoFi. With our financial insights and credit score monitoring tools, you can view all of your accounts in one convenient dashboard. From there, you can see your various balances, spending breakdowns, and credit score. Plus you can easily set up budgets and discover valuable financial insights — all at no cost.

FAQ

Can I sue for an unauthorized credit check?

Consult an attorney to discuss potential legal remedies. If you discover that your credit was run inappropriately without your permission, contact all three credit bureaus to ask them to remove the inquiry so that it doesn’t harm your credit score. You can also file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/.

What is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act?

There are multiple types of FCRA violations. They include instances when a credit bureau provides your information to someone who is not authorized to receive it, didn’t demonstrate a valid need for the data, or didn’t get your written permission in advance.

How do I find out who ran my credit?

You can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com. Your credit report lists all hard credit inquiries from the past two years, and potentially some soft inquiries.

Photo credit: iStock/vitapix

SoFi Relay offers users the ability to connect both SoFi accounts and external accounts using Plaid, Inc.’s service. When you use the service to connect an account, you authorize SoFi to obtain account information from any external accounts as set forth in SoFi’s Terms of Use. Based on your consent SoFi will also automatically provide some financial data received from the credit bureau for your visibility, without the need of you connecting additional accounts. SoFi assumes no responsibility for the timeliness, accuracy, deletion, non-delivery or failure to store any user data, loss of user data, communications, or personalization settings. You shall confirm the accuracy of Plaid data through sources independent of SoFi. The credit score is a VantageScore® based on TransUnion® (the “Processing Agent”) data.

Non affiliation: SoFi isn’t affiliated with any of the companies highlighted in this article.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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We all feel the effects of inflation: Groceries cost more, childcare seems to be a luxury service. But that’s subjective. To nail down the real-world impact of inflation, economists like to compare rising prices to salaries, which are more static. This is where the wage inflation calculator comes in. The tool illustrates how much buying power your earnings currently have compared to past years.

We’ll take a closer look at how wage inflation calculators work and what they can tell us about making a living in the U.S. in 2024. We’ll also examine what inflation is and how much wages have grown compared to home prices, gold, and other metrics.

What Goes Behind an Hourly Wage Inflation Calculator

A wage inflation calculator may go by other names, such as an inflation wage calculator, hourly wage inflation calculator, minimum wage inflation calculator, or a wage adjusted for inflation calculator. But they’re all the same. You can see an example at https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm.

The calculator is one way to represent inflation, which is the change in price of goods and services. It tells you how much buying power a dollar amount has on a certain date compared to another date — usually today or a year-over-year equivalent. For example, someone may enter their hourly wage on Jan. 1, 2010, and then compare how much that same wage bought them on Jan. 1, 2024.

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Historical Inflation Rates, Compared

The table below shows the annual rate of inflation from 1920 to present. See the next section for more information on how to read the table.

How to Read Our Historical Inflation Rate Table

To understand the table shared above, first you need to know what CPI means. The Consumer Price Index comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which began collecting family expenditure data in 1917. The annual average CPI-U in the second column represents Urban CPI data. The annual percent change between each year’s CPI represents the rate of inflation.

How to Calculate Hourly Wage Adjusted for Inflation

Using a wage inflation calculator is an easy way to see how our income’s buying power changes with inflation. Just enter the starting year of your choice, your hourly wage, and then the current year.

Let’s say someone was making $25 per hour in 2018 and wants to know what the equivalent hourly rate is in 2024. In this case, making $25 per hour in August 2018 is equivalent to making $31.21 in August 2024. Assuming the individual makes the same money today, this shows that the buying power of their hourly wage has decreased over the years.

If you’re negotiating a raise, you could argue that $31.21 is the minimum you should be making to keep up with the cost of living.

What Is Inflation and How Does It Work?

Inflation represents changes in prices of services and goods throughout the economy. The way the government measures inflation is by comparing the current cost of goods and services to prices in previous years.

Inflation weakens the purchasing power of the dollar, as consumers have to pay more for things than they did in previous months and years. Inflation can also deflate the value of cash held in savings accounts.

What Is Actual Inflation?

Actual inflation is a term used to refer to what the current rate of inflation really is versus what consumers perceive the current rate to be, or their “inflation expectations.” Consumer expectations influence actual inflation.

Hyperinflation

Hyperinflation is a term used when rapid inflation occurs. This is when prices rise uncontrollably over a period of time. Hyperinflation is extreme — 50% a month or more — and fortunately rare.

The U.S. has never experienced hyperinflation, and no one believes it’s on the horizon. The most recent example of hyperinflation is Venezuela, where inflation reached 65,000% in 2018.

Deflation

Deflation is the opposite of inflation, when prices of goods and services go down. The U.S. experienced deflation of 7% (or -7% inflation) during the first few years of the Great Depression.

Recommended: What Is Stagflation?

How Is Inflation Calculated?

The formula for measuring inflation is:

•   Percent Inflation Rate = (Final CPI Index Value/Initial CPI Value) x 100

How Is Wage Adjusted for Inflation Calculated?

It’s complicated. The easiest way to calculate a wage adjusted for inflation is to use an online wage inflation calculator.

How Inflation Impacts You

There’s some confusion surrounding whether inflation is good or bad. Some inflation is normal, and shows that the economy is growing. But for consumers it feels like a bad thing. It can be especially worrisome for borrowers with variable-rate-interest debt like student loan debt.

Economists can measure the impact of inflation on consumers in a number of ways. You’ve probably seen articles discussing college tuition vs. inflation, which show how American incomes have not kept up rising education costs. Other metrics tell similar stories.

Let’s look at a few different metrics that reveal how consumers may feel the impact of inflation.

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How Your Wage Is Doing Relative to the Housing Market

Inflation can sneak up on consumers when prices at grocery stores rise slightly. But they really feel it when making a large purchase, such as buying a home. People who have saved for many years to buy a house find that their income and savings are no longer enough to reach their home buying goals.

That’s because median home prices have far outstripped median wages: Nationwide home prices have grown 129% since 1960, while household income increased only 39%. This may have been great news for our parents and grandparents, who saw their real estate investments soar. But for today’s first-time homebuyers, it’s a disaster.

Also, mortgage interest rates can rise during periods of inflation.

Recommended: Should I Sell My House Now or Wait?

How Your Wage Is Doing Relative to Gold

Because gold tends to hold its value, it makes a good unit of measurement for economists. By converting wages to gold, we can get a better sense of how wages have held up, or not, over the years.

In 1965, the minimum wage was equal to 71 ounces of gold annually. Given the price of gold in 2024, that’s equal to a salary of $179,491.55. Compare that to the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, or $15,080 annually.

How Your Wage Is Doing Relative to CPI

Remember, CPI represents consumer prices. Inflation impacts prices of essential goods and services such as groceries, gas, and childcare. This means that salaries and savings don’t extend as far as they used to. This is why many people push for raising the minimum wage during periods of inflation.

If you’re looking to take control of your money during inflation, a money tracker app can help you gain valuable insight into your financial life.

The Takeaway

Inflation, and the rising prices that come with it, means your income doesn’t buy as much as it used to. Using a wage inflation calculator is one way for consumers to get a more objective idea of how much buying power their hourly wage has during periods of inflation. Of course, inflation doesn’t affect all prices equally. That’s why economists use different metrics to measure inflation’s impact, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the housing market, and gold.

Take control of your finances with SoFi. With our financial insights and credit score monitoring tools, you can view all of your accounts in one convenient dashboard. From there, you can see your various balances, spending breakdowns, and credit score. Plus you can easily set up budgets and discover valuable financial insights — all at no cost.

FAQ

How do you calculate wages adjusted for inflation?

Using a wage inflation calculator can make it easier to get insight into how much buying power an hourly wage has in the current economy. With a wage adjusted for inflation calculator, it’s easier to understand what someone’s income is currently worth compared to prior years.

How much is $15 an hour in 2000?

According to the CPI Inflation Calculator from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, $15 an hour in August 2000 is equivalent to $27.33 of buying power in August 2024.

What is the inflation rate for 2024?

The current inflation rate for 2024 is 2.5%. This is based on the 12 months ending August 2024.

How do you calculate real hourly wage from CPI?

Wage inflation calculators take the current CPI and past CPI into account to help consumers calculate their real hourly wage.

Photo credit: iStock/new look casting

SoFi Relay offers users the ability to connect both SoFi accounts and external accounts using Plaid, Inc.’s service. When you use the service to connect an account, you authorize SoFi to obtain account information from any external accounts as set forth in SoFi’s Terms of Use. Based on your consent SoFi will also automatically provide some financial data received from the credit bureau for your visibility, without the need of you connecting additional accounts. SoFi assumes no responsibility for the timeliness, accuracy, deletion, non-delivery or failure to store any user data, loss of user data, communications, or personalization settings. You shall confirm the accuracy of Plaid data through sources independent of SoFi. The credit score is a VantageScore® based on TransUnion® (the “Processing Agent”) data.

Non affiliation: SoFi isn’t affiliated with any of the companies highlighted in this article.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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Calling California home can be expensive, and some locations carry a much higher cost of living than others. In fact, if you’re wondering where to live in the Golden State, your income may be the deciding factor. A good salary for a single person in California varies widely depending on location and industry: $50K may be enough in some areas, $150K in others.

Here, we’ll provide real-world stats to show you what the cost of living is really like. And we’ll compare annual salaries for different occupations to offer some insight into what a single Californian typically earns.

What Is the True Cost of Living in California?

California is the second-most expensive state in the U.S., according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC). Only Hawaii, Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts have a higher cost of living. Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) calculated that the average annual cost of living in California is $60,272.

Average cost of living numbers reflect both the highs and lows of what people spend to live in California. Cost of living generally means necessary expenses, such as:

•   Housing

•   Food

•   Utilities

•   Transportation

•   Taxes

•   Health care

•   Child care

•   Clothing

•   Education

Where someone chooses to live in California and their lifestyle can influence their personal cost of living. Their choice of career can determine how easily they’re able to keep up with the cost of living. What is considered a good salary for a single person in a metro area may be very different from that of someone living in a farming community.

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What Is the True Cost of Living in Los Angeles?

Households in the Los Angeles metro area spent an average of $77,024 per year in 2021-22, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The majority of spending was divided across eight categories:

•   Housing

•   Transportation

•   Food

•   Personal insurance and pensions

•   Healthcare

•   Entertainment

•   Cash contributions

•   Apparel and services

August 2024 data from the BLS shows that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for goods and services in Los Angeles has increased 2.9% from August 2023. Some of the biggest price increases have been in the food and medical care categories. Meanwhile, the average weekly wage across all industries in Los Angeles was $1,411.60, which adds up to $73,403 in annual salary.

What Is the True Cost of Living in the San Francisco Bay Area?

Residents of the San Francisco Bay Area spent an average of $101,880 per year in 2021-22, according to BLS data. San Franciscans spent the most on housing, followed by:

•   Personal insurance and pensions

•   Food

•   Transportation

•   Personal insurance and pensions

•   Cash contributions

•   Entertainment

•   Education

Similar to Los Angeles, San Francisco saw its consumer price index increase 2.7% between August 2023 and August 2024, with consumers paying more for food, energy, and apparel. In terms of weekly salary, workers in the Bay Area bring in $1,874 on average, or $97,468 annually.

Why Is the Cost of Living in California So High?

California’s high cost of living can be attributed largely to supply and demand. Generally speaking, when demand for goods and services outpaces supply, that can result in higher prices.

High demand vs. low supply for things like housing, for instance, can send real estate values soaring. California is an attractive place to live because of its strong economy and job market, prompting more people to move there, driving up demand for housing. The state ranks second for the highest rent prices. And the typical home is valued at $784,989, according to Zillow.

Meanwhile, California residents are subject to higher property tax rates, which adds to the cost of living. They also typically pay more for fuel due to a combination of higher taxes and environmental regulation surcharges.

Inflation can add to the high cost of living in California. As of August 2024, the CPI increased 2.5% year over year. When inflation rises, everything you spend money on tends to become more expensive, driving up the cost of living even further.

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Living Wage Calculation for California

A living wage in California is the hourly rate that someone must earn to support themselves and their family, if they have one. It’s not the same thing as the federal minimum wage. The gap between the two is often used as an argument for raising the minimum wage across the board.

Here’s what an hourly living wage calculation looks like for different household sizes in California. Note that the state minimum wage for companies with 26 or more employees is $16.00 an hour.

So what is a good annual salary for a single person in California? Using living wage data, you could assume that $56,825 in annual pay would be a good salary for a single person with no children. On the other hand, a single adult raising three kids would need to make $170,892 yearly. Those income numbers assume a 40-hour workweek and 52 weeks of work per year.

It’s important to understand the distinction between salary vs. hourly pay, in terms of how much work is involved to earn a living wage. A salaried employee who works 60 hours a week may end up earning the same average hourly wage as someone who works 40 hours per week, even though they’re spending more time on the job.

Typical Expenses

Comparing typical spending to living wage calculations can offer some perspective on how easily Californians are able to keep up with their cost of living. Here’s a closer look at what adults spend in several key budget categories. Comparing typical spending to living wage calculations can offer some perspective on how easily Californians are able to keep up with their cost of living. (If you’re struggling to get a grip on spending, then using a money tracker app like SoFi’s can help.)

Here’s a closer look at what adults spend in several key budget categories.

“Civic” refers to civic activities and includes costs related to entertainment, culture, pets, hobbies, and education.

Typical Annual Salaries in California

A good yearly salary for a single person in California varies widely, as does what is considered competitive pay. It mostly depends on the industry someone works in. Here’s an overview of annual salaries in California across different industries and sectors.

The highest paying jobs by state tend to be in the management, legal, technology, and healthcare fields. That makes sense, given how much big business and tech contribute to the state’s economy.

California’s large population also means greater demand for things like legal services and health care. These are not the best jobs for antisocial people, since they demand a good deal of interaction and communication, but that doesn’t mean introverts can’t find great opportunities here.

So, what is a good entry level salary in California? Entry level pay is likely to be higher in industries that have higher demand for talent. The downside is that hiring can be much more competitive.

New hires seeking jobs in the state may do well to read up on how to ask for a signing bonus or more perks in their benefits package, which can help supplement a lower entry level salary.

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Is the Cost of Living in California Worth It?

California is far from the cheapest state to live in. Whether it’s worth it to you to make your home there can depend on your reasons for wanting to live in the Golden State. If you’ve landed a high-paying job in a promising field, for instance, then a higher cost of living might be a trade-off you can accept to launch your dream career.

On the other hand, you might find that California’s cost of living is simply too much for your budget. In that case, you might consider relocating to a less expensive state or, at the very least, moving to a different part of California.

Regardless of where you end up, using a budget planner app can be a great way to keep track of your spending. You can link the app to your bank accounts and credit cards to keep tabs on where your money goes and see at a glance where you might need to cut back. Maintaining a budget is one of the most effective ways to keep your cost of living under control.

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The Takeaway

What is a good yearly salary for a single person? The simplest answer might be this: An amount that allows you to meet all of your basic expenses, save a little, and pay down debt or work toward another financial goal. Whether that’s $50,000, $150,000 or more can depend on your preferred lifestyle and where you choose to live.

Take control of your finances with SoFi. With our financial insights and credit score monitoring tools, you can view all of your accounts in one convenient dashboard. From there, you can see your various balances, spending breakdowns, and credit score. Plus you can easily set up budgets and discover valuable financial insights — all at no cost.

FAQ

What is a livable salary for a single person in California?

A living wage for a single person in California with no children is $27.32 per hour or $56,825 per year, assuming a 40-hour workweek. Whether that salary is livable for someone can depend on where they live in California and how they typically spend their money.

What is a comfortable salary in California?

The salary that’s required to live comfortably in California depends on how many people live in the household, how many people in the household earn an income, where you live in the state, and your typical annual expenses.

What is a good monthly income in California?

A good monthly income in California is $5,002, based on what the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Californians pay for their cost of living. A good monthly income for you will depend on what your expenses are and how much you typically spend per month.

Photo credit: iStock/lechatnoir

SoFi Relay offers users the ability to connect both SoFi accounts and external accounts using Plaid, Inc.’s service. When you use the service to connect an account, you authorize SoFi to obtain account information from any external accounts as set forth in SoFi’s Terms of Use. Based on your consent SoFi will also automatically provide some financial data received from the credit bureau for your visibility, without the need of you connecting additional accounts. SoFi assumes no responsibility for the timeliness, accuracy, deletion, non-delivery or failure to store any user data, loss of user data, communications, or personalization settings. You shall confirm the accuracy of Plaid data through sources independent of SoFi. The credit score is a VantageScore® based on TransUnion® (the “Processing Agent”) data.

*Terms and conditions apply. This offer is only available to new SoFi users without existing SoFi accounts. It is non-transferable. One offer per person. To receive the rewards points offer, you must successfully complete setting up Credit Score Monitoring. Rewards points may only be redeemed towards active SoFi accounts, such as your SoFi Checking or Savings account, subject to program terms that may be found here: SoFi Member Rewards Terms and Conditions. SoFi reserves the right to modify or discontinue this offer at any time without notice.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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