$52k before taxes, about $41k after. It's an ok wage a lot of places but I defniitely wouldn't call it a "life of luxury" anywhere in the U.S. and I'm from one of the LCOL places in the U.S., the midwest.
You definitely won't starve but you're also not going to retire early.
$50k is still very much working class. Yeah you own a car but it's a 7yr old Nissan sedan, nothing luxurious about it. At $50k you're not missing that many paychecks before it becomes a very real issue I promise.
Yes. When I lived out there I would've killed for 25 an hour. I was making 7.50 an hour and with a roommate I lived pretty okay. At 25 I could've lived alone and still saved
Three or four years at this point, so technically not including some of the ridiculous inflation, but the cost of living in that area has barely increased. Rent is $900 on average there right now, so if you're pulling in 25 an hour you're making plenty to live alone relatively comfortably