I am with @ParaParaYukiko here; it varies considerably.
As a former New Englander now living in Seattle, I am used to rents not less than $650 for a roach-infested closet and $800+ for anyplace you’d want to actually live, and gas in the $2.80–3.10 range.
Back East we also had to pay a lot for heat, and since we moved to Seattle, we don’t pay for plowing, or pumping the septic system, and registering a car costs a lot less, However, we now pay 9.5% sales tax, car insurance is mandatory (NH is about hte only place where you don’t need it), and food is pricier, so it’s about hte same cost overall.
To put things in perspective, if I lived in the South or Midwest on my current wages, I could have a comfortable small house and a stay-at-home wife. As it stands, my wife works and we split the bills on a 2 bedroom apartment with a roommate so that we can afford an actual life rather than a mere existence.
My friends in other parts of the country are amazed how expensive New England is. There is a reason that WA state has a minimum wage that is higher than the Federal minimum wage, but in NH, there is no such luck. Try getting an $850 apartment with a %150+/month heating bill on a single $7.50/hour income! While I never had it nearly that bad, many do. It takes at least $36K/year to live in most parts of NH, and that assumes that you are willing to eat beans and rice and not go out more than once a month.