Living Wage Calculation for Fort Collins, CO

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 $24.52 $44.41 $57.61 $75.81 $32.44 $39.28 $44.36 $49.18 $16.22 $24.53 $31.22 $37.35
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 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42

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 $4,596 $6,776 $10,163 $13,508 $8,427 $10,489 $13,509 $16,471 $8,427 $10,489 $13,509 $16,471
Child Care $0 $16,868 $31,152 $41,970 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $16,868 $31,152 $41,970
Medical $2,864 $8,794 $8,682 $9,145 $6,101 $8,682 $9,145 $8,740 $6,101 $8,682 $9,145 $8,740
Housing $16,187 $19,854 $19,854 $27,984 $16,284 $19,854 $19,854 $27,984 $16,284 $19,854 $19,854 $27,984
Transportation $9,756 $11,291 $14,222 $16,365 $11,291 $14,222 $16,365 $16,346 $11,291 $14,222 $16,365 $16,346
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 $1,952 $1,952 $1,952 $1,952 $2,547 $2,547 $2,547 $2,547 $2,547 $2,547 $2,547 $2,547
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 $43,126 $79,328 $101,734 $131,131 $58,442 $71,503 $81,627 $91,307 $58,442 $88,371 $112,779 $133,277
Annual taxes $7,883 $13,050 $18,086 $26,555 $9,030 $10,191 $10,641 $10,984 $9,030 $13,674 $17,088 $22,094
Required annual income before taxes $51,009 $92,378 $119,821 $157,686 $67,472 $81,694 $92,268 $102,291 $67,472 $102,045 $129,868 $155,371

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 $141,100
Business & Financial Operations $84,520
Computer & Mathematical $102,340
Architecture & Engineering $106,950
Life, Physical, & Social Science $73,580
Community & Social Service $56,840
Legal $128,060
Education, Training, & Library $64,990
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $64,130
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $101,750
Healthcare Support $40,020
Protective Service $60,540
Food Preparation & Serving Related $36,600
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $38,900
Personal Care & Service $42,550
Sales & Related $52,800
Office & Administrative Support $46,470
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $40,530
Construction & Extraction $57,310
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $57,080
Production $48,640
Transportation & Material Moving $43,750