“Is that before or after taxes?”
The article appears to mean the $177000 amount is what the family needs available to spend for a year and that would include all taxes owed and insurance (medical, auto, home, renters, etc.).
If the source of the $177000 is strictly income from a job(s) that means the family must make $85/hour combined. IMO these types of articles amount to clickbait and usually leave more questions than answers.