I couldn't even imagine living on $26K in the Bay Area - what an utterly miserable life that would be!
One thing I noticed is that payroll taxes (Federdal, State, FICA, SDI) are not factored in to this $26K figure one person "living wage" figure - why is that? This study is assuming that taxes are not paid.
..so we need to add 33% to the $26K figure - because there certainly won't be any mortgage deductions on that type of wage - no one could afford to own a house on $26K a year in the Bay Area.
My $50K figure states living comfortably meaning entertainment, one vacation a year, etc.
