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According to the report, 40 percent of people in Louisiana struggle to make ends meet. That's nearly double the number of people in the state (19 percent) who are considered below the federal poverty level.

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"There's this narrative that if only people worked a little harder, that would solve all our problems," said David Britt, president of the United Way of Central Louisiana. "What this data shows is there are a lot of people who work very hard — sometimes at two or three jobs — and they're barely scraping by."

The report, conducted by independent researchers, sought to estimate the average costs of necessities such as food, housing, health care and transportation in an area. For a family of four in Louisiana, the annual average was $42,444.

"If you're like me, you see those numbers and think, 'That seems like enough money to make it,'" McQuain said. "But when you start putting pen to paper, it's really not."

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