Living Wage Calculation for Lansing-East Lansing, MI

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 $19.77 $35.37 $45.36 $59.39 $27.39 $32.59 $37.30 $39.31 $13.70 $19.95 $25.30 $29.23
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 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33

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 $4,059 $5,984 $8,975 $11,930 $7,442 $9,264 $11,931 $14,547 $7,442 $9,264 $11,931 $14,547
Child Care $0 $12,424 $23,294 $33,130 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $12,424 $23,294 $33,130
Medical $3,150 $7,735 $7,595 $8,174 $6,142 $7,595 $8,174 $7,667 $6,142 $7,595 $8,174 $7,667
Housing $9,969 $12,888 $12,888 $16,858 $10,399 $12,888 $12,888 $16,858 $10,399 $12,888 $12,888 $16,858
Transportation $9,782 $11,320 $14,260 $16,407 $11,320 $14,260 $16,407 $16,388 $11,320 $14,260 $16,407 $16,388
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 $1,510 $1,510 $1,510 $1,510 $2,079 $2,079 $2,079 $2,079 $2,079 $2,079 $2,079 $2,079
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 $35,444 $64,237 $82,675 $106,137 $49,760 $60,239 $69,609 $74,770 $49,760 $72,663 $92,903 $107,900
Annual taxes $5,679 $9,328 $11,684 $17,402 $7,219 $7,539 $7,982 $6,985 $7,219 $10,342 $12,349 $13,703
Required annual income before taxes $41,123 $73,565 $94,359 $123,539 $56,980 $67,778 $77,590 $81,756 $56,980 $83,004 $105,252 $121,604

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 $114,900
Business & Financial Operations $75,250
Computer & Mathematical $82,190
Architecture & Engineering $82,960
Life, Physical, & Social Science $72,780
Community & Social Service $54,090
Legal $105,110
Education, Training, & Library $71,260
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $63,970
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $89,100
Healthcare Support $34,030
Protective Service $52,080
Food Preparation & Serving Related $31,710
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $34,860
Personal Care & Service $34,040
Sales & Related $45,260
Office & Administrative Support $45,660
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $44,290
Construction & Extraction $58,720
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $51,300
Production $47,820
Transportation & Material Moving $41,330