Living Wage Calculation for Kansas City, MO

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 $21.70 $36.38 $45.94 $58.88 $29.97 $35.12 $40.01 $42.69 $14.96 $20.51 $25.64 $29.01
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 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30

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 $4,441 $6,546 $9,819 $13,051 $8,142 $10,135 $13,052 $15,914 $8,142 $10,135 $13,052 $15,914
Child Care $0 $10,454 $19,906 $26,611 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $10,454 $19,906 $26,611
Medical $3,079 $7,757 $7,617 $8,197 $6,256 $7,617 $8,197 $7,690 $6,256 $7,617 $8,197 $7,690
Housing $11,851 $15,138 $15,138 $19,795 $13,205 $15,138 $15,138 $19,795 $13,205 $15,138 $15,138 $19,795
Transportation $10,458 $12,103 $15,246 $17,542 $12,103 $15,246 $17,542 $17,522 $12,103 $15,246 $17,542 $17,522
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 $1,491 $1,491 $1,491 $1,491 $2,061 $2,061 $2,061 $2,061 $2,061 $2,061 $2,061 $2,061
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 $38,295 $65,867 $83,371 $104,816 $54,143 $64,351 $74,120 $80,213 $54,143 $74,804 $94,025 $106,824
Annual taxes $6,841 $9,808 $12,178 $17,647 $8,196 $8,709 $9,105 $8,584 $8,074 $10,532 $12,643 $13,868
Required annual income before taxes $45,137 $75,675 $95,549 $122,464 $62,339 $73,060 $83,225 $88,796 $62,218 $85,336 $106,668 $120,692

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 $119,770
Business & Financial Operations $78,500
Computer & Mathematical $92,240
Architecture & Engineering $87,090
Life, Physical, & Social Science $76,890
Community & Social Service $50,370
Legal $111,160
Education, Training, & Library $54,450
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $62,080
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $86,010
Healthcare Support $34,460
Protective Service $52,310
Food Preparation & Serving Related $31,080
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $35,010
Personal Care & Service $32,830
Sales & Related $51,630
Office & Administrative Support $44,380
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $40,510
Construction & Extraction $60,080
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $55,210
Production $46,400
Transportation & Material Moving $43,790