Living Wage Calculation for Eau Claire, WI

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 $20.64 $37.31 $49.01 $64.67 $29.02 $34.71 $39.64 $42.31 $14.38 $20.87 $26.98 $31.66
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 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25

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 $4,307 $6,349 $9,523 $12,657 $7,896 $9,829 $12,658 $15,434 $7,896 $9,829 $12,658 $15,434
Child Care $0 $12,669 $25,337 $36,062 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $12,669 $25,337 $36,062
Medical $3,551 $9,179 $9,039 $9,618 $7,478 $9,039 $9,618 $9,111 $7,478 $9,039 $9,618 $9,111
Housing $9,372 $12,533 $12,533 $17,213 $10,048 $12,533 $12,533 $17,213 $10,048 $12,533 $12,533 $17,213
Transportation $10,849 $12,555 $15,815 $18,198 $12,555 $15,815 $18,198 $18,177 $12,555 $15,815 $18,198 $18,177
Civic $2,889 $5,083 $6,398 $7,409 $5,083 $6,398 $7,409 $6,926 $5,083 $6,398 $7,409 $6,926
Internet & Mobile $1,520 $1,520 $1,520 $1,520 $2,090 $2,090 $2,090 $2,090 $2,090 $2,090 $2,090 $2,090
Other $4,086 $7,294 $7,756 $10,720 $7,294 $7,756 $10,720 $10,305 $7,294 $7,756 $10,720 $10,305
Required annual income after taxes $36,574 $67,182 $87,920 $113,397 $52,444 $63,459 $73,226 $79,255 $52,444 $76,128 $98,563 $115,317
Annual taxes $6,365 $10,430 $14,021 $21,117 $7,920 $8,728 $9,226 $8,752 $7,391 $10,681 $13,662 $16,384
Required annual income before taxes $42,939 $77,612 $101,941 $134,514 $60,365 $72,187 $82,451 $88,007 $59,835 $86,809 $112,225 $131,701

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 $118,060
Business & Financial Operations $71,450
Computer & Mathematical $79,820
Architecture & Engineering $74,310
Life, Physical, & Social Science $66,840
Community & Social Service $50,660
Legal $86,660
Education, Training, & Library $53,780
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $50,070
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $110,610
Healthcare Support $34,540
Protective Service $49,450
Food Preparation & Serving Related $28,860
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $33,380
Personal Care & Service $32,400
Sales & Related $43,590
Office & Administrative Support $42,040
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $40,060
Construction & Extraction $57,240
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $54,040
Production $43,800
Transportation & Material Moving $39,970