Is My degree worth more?

If you move to an area with higher payrates for your skills, you'll increase your taxes and cost of living. Unless you develop experience in something related to your electronics technology associate's degree which is in greater demand & pays better, you're not moving up.

A degree isn't "worth" a particular cash amount. Your skills are worth what employers in your area are willing to pay for those skills. You can ask for a raise or apply to jobs at other companies to see if you can earn more. As with many jobs, if the cost of living in higher, the wage will be higher, but that doesn't mean you'd be any better off at the end of the day.

If you find that your current skills aren't going to get you the income you want, then you need to consider developing other skills that will enable you to get a better paying job.

You need to either find another job. Maybe in another town. You are paid like 20K less then the average salary. You should ask for a pay increase to equal out your pay.

The recommendations are that you shouldn't spend more than 30% of your gross income on rent. At $1K per month you are paying about half of your income (unless you are splitting rent as it is a 2 bedroom).

It would seem that you could be making a bit more as you are making about $12/hr. While not horrible in a cheap area, it probably is not leaving much extra after your bills.