Living Wage Calculation for Owensboro, KY

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 $19.76 $33.18 $40.79 $52.51 $27.13 $33.18 $37.48 $39.77 $13.57 $18.73 $23.02 $26.10
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 $3,741 $5,514 $8,271 $10,993 $6,858 $8,537 $10,995 $13,405 $6,858 $8,537 $10,995 $13,405
Child Care $0 $7,721 $15,442 $21,922 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $7,721 $15,442 $21,922
Medical $2,931 $9,224 $9,110 $9,582 $6,763 $9,110 $9,582 $9,169 $6,763 $9,110 $9,582 $9,169
Housing $9,951 $13,160 $13,160 $17,369 $10,012 $13,160 $13,160 $17,369 $10,012 $13,160 $13,160 $17,369
Transportation $10,305 $11,925 $15,022 $17,285 $11,925 $15,022 $17,285 $17,265 $11,925 $15,022 $17,285 $17,265
Civic $2,165 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $5,191 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $5,191
Internet & Mobile $1,596 $1,596 $1,596 $1,596 $2,176 $2,176 $2,176 $2,176 $2,176 $2,176 $2,176 $2,176
Other $3,903 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $9,841 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $9,841
Required annual income after taxes $34,592 $59,917 $74,803 $94,539 $48,509 $60,206 $68,987 $74,416 $48,509 $67,927 $84,429 $96,338
Annual taxes $6,511 $9,099 $10,036 $14,685 $7,929 $8,809 $8,973 $8,312 $7,929 $9,980 $11,315 $12,250
Required annual income before taxes $41,103 $69,016 $84,840 $109,224 $56,438 $69,015 $77,961 $82,728 $56,438 $77,907 $95,744 $108,589

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 $96,450
Business & Financial Operations $71,700
Computer & Mathematical $77,660
Architecture & Engineering $79,510
Life, Physical, & Social Science $68,090
Community & Social Service $47,390
Legal $76,870
Education, Training, & Library $50,000
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $45,110
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $84,620
Healthcare Support $33,530
Protective Service $34,330
Food Preparation & Serving Related $26,810
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $29,690
Personal Care & Service $27,460
Sales & Related $38,120
Office & Administrative Support $40,570
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $37,560
Construction & Extraction $50,350
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $54,420
Production $49,070
Transportation & Material Moving $40,550