standard of living

American  

noun

1. a grade or level of subsistence and comfort in everyday life enjoyed by a community, class, or individual.

   The well-educated generally have a high standard of living.

---

standard of living British  

noun

1. a level of subsistence or material welfare of a community, class, or person

---

standard of living Cultural  

1. A term describing the amount of goods and services that an average family or individual views as necessary.

---

Etymology

Origin of standard of living

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

standard of living

Instead, the residents of Mohenjo-daro may have cooperated to give households broad access to the resources needed for a comfortable standard of living.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026

“It’s misleading to conclude that Europeans have a clearly lower standard of living than Americans when they have essentially just made different choices.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

Hepi said last year that students needed £61,000 over the course of a three-year degree in order to have a "minimum socially acceptable standard of living" - and that's excluding tuition fees.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

Zug is even more beautiful today, with a high standard of living and broad cultural possibilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Most say their standard of living is better than their parents’ and imagine that their children will do better still.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times