Living Wage Calculation for Chico, CA

The living wage shown is the hourly rate that an individual in a household must earn to support themselves and/or their family, working full-time, or 2080 hours per year. The tables below provide living wage estimates for individuals and households with one or two working adults and zero to three children. In households with two working adults, all hourly values reflect what one working adult requires to earn to meet their families’ basic needs, assuming the other adult also earns the same.

The poverty wage and state minimum wage are for reference purposes. Poverty wage estimates come from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Poverty Guidelines for 2024 and have been converted from an annual value to an hourly wage for ease of comparison. The state minimum wage data is sourced from the Labor Law Center and includes the minimum wage in a given state as of January of that year.

For further detail, please reference the Methodology page. The data on this page was last updated on February 14, 2024.

1 ADULT 2 ADULTS

(1 WORKING)

2 ADULTS

(BOTH WORKING)

0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children
Living Wage $21.95 $38.58 $49.61 $67.10 $30.15 $37.02 $41.87 $45.80 $15.07 $21.74 $27.49 $32.86
Poverty Wage $7.24 $9.83 $12.41 $15.00 $9.83 $12.41 $15.00 $17.59 $4.91 $6.21 $7.50 $8.79
Minimum Wage $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00

Typical Expenses

The table below shows the costs of each basic need that go into estimating the living wage. Like with the living wage, their values vary by location and family size.

1 ADULT 2 ADULTS

(1 WORKING)

2 ADULTS

(BOTH WORKING)

0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children
Food $4,563 $6,726 $10,088 $13,409 $8,365 $10,412 $13,410 $16,350 $8,365 $10,412 $13,410 $16,350
Child Care $0 $11,517 $23,033 $33,044 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $11,517 $23,033 $33,044
Medical $2,756 $9,030 $8,918 $9,381 $6,321 $8,918 $9,381 $8,976 $6,321 $8,918 $9,381 $8,976
Housing $12,653 $17,225 $17,225 $24,269 $13,160 $17,225 $17,225 $24,269 $13,160 $17,225 $17,225 $24,269
Transportation $9,914 $11,473 $14,453 $16,630 $11,473 $14,453 $16,630 $16,610 $11,473 $14,453 $16,630 $16,610
Civic $3,032 $5,335 $6,715 $7,776 $5,335 $6,715 $7,776 $7,269 $5,335 $6,715 $7,776 $7,269
Internet & Mobile $1,598 $1,598 $1,598 $1,598 $2,193 $2,193 $2,193 $2,193 $2,193 $2,193 $2,193 $2,193
Other $4,739 $8,459 $8,994 $12,431 $8,459 $8,994 $12,431 $11,950 $8,459 $8,994 $12,431 $11,950
Required annual income after taxes $39,254 $71,362 $91,023 $118,538 $55,305 $68,909 $79,045 $87,617 $55,305 $80,425 $102,078 $120,661
Annual taxes $6,404 $8,881 $12,158 $21,040 $7,403 $8,097 $8,053 $7,638 $7,403 $9,995 $12,271 $16,051
Required annual income before taxes $45,658 $80,243 $103,181 $139,577 $62,708 $77,006 $87,098 $95,255 $62,708 $90,421 $114,349 $136,712

Typical Annual Salaries

The average annual salaries for various occupations in the table below comes from the latest state-level data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. When available, this data is specific to a given metro area.

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $112,650
Business & Financial Operations $77,550
Computer & Mathematical $88,780
Architecture & Engineering $90,570
Life, Physical, & Social Science $76,190
Community & Social Service $58,760
Legal $89,930
Education, Training, & Library $70,320
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $56,760
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $110,310
Healthcare Support $34,660
Protective Service $61,040
Food Preparation & Serving Related $34,040
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $39,990
Personal Care & Service $36,440
Sales & Related $44,700
Office & Administrative Support $45,790
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $38,860
Construction & Extraction $61,900
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $60,440
Production $48,210
Transportation & Material Moving $42,310