Living Wage Calculation for Madison, 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 $21.38 $40.42 $54.50 $72.09 $30.36 $35.79 $40.72 $43.70 $15.05 $22.42 $29.53 $35.40
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 $4,561 $6,723 $10,084 $13,403 $8,361 $10,408 $13,404 $16,343 $8,361 $10,408 $13,404 $16,343
Child Care $0 $15,992 $31,983 $45,157 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $15,992 $31,983 $45,157
Medical $3,313 $8,384 $8,244 $8,823 $6,889 $8,244 $8,823 $8,316 $6,889 $8,244 $8,823 $8,316
Housing $11,443 $15,758 $15,758 $20,782 $13,370 $15,758 $15,758 $20,782 $13,370 $15,758 $15,758 $20,782
Transportation $10,050 $11,631 $14,652 $16,858 $11,631 $14,652 $16,858 $16,839 $11,631 $14,652 $16,858 $16,839
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 $1,462 $1,462 $1,462 $1,462 $2,032 $2,032 $2,032 $2,032 $2,032 $2,032 $2,032 $2,032
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 $37,805 $72,327 $96,336 $124,615 $54,660 $65,247 $75,005 $81,543 $54,660 $81,238 $106,988 $126,700
Annual taxes $6,675 $11,747 $17,016 $25,341 $8,485 $9,192 $9,688 $9,347 $7,955 $12,010 $15,853 $20,544
Required annual income before taxes $44,480 $84,074 $113,352 $149,956 $63,145 $74,439 $84,693 $90,891 $62,615 $93,248 $122,840 $147,244

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 $130,750
Business & Financial Operations $78,910
Computer & Mathematical $89,870
Architecture & Engineering $82,300
Life, Physical, & Social Science $74,540
Community & Social Service $55,670
Legal $106,700
Education, Training, & Library $63,600
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $61,240
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $106,010
Healthcare Support $36,490
Protective Service $56,840
Food Preparation & Serving Related $31,020
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $35,660
Personal Care & Service $35,960
Sales & Related $51,400
Office & Administrative Support $45,830
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $39,500
Construction & Extraction $62,000
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $57,260
Production $45,770
Transportation & Material Moving $41,330