Living Wage Calculation for Rochester, NY

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 $21.60 $39.86 $52.83 $69.19 $29.62 $35.52 $40.37 $41.98 $14.81 $22.27 $28.89 $33.85
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 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00

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 $4,369 $6,441 $9,661 $12,840 $8,010 $9,971 $12,842 $15,657 $8,010 $9,971 $12,842 $15,657
Child Care $0 $15,535 $29,999 $42,799 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $15,535 $29,999 $42,799
Medical $3,319 $7,691 $7,543 $8,156 $5,811 $7,543 $8,156 $7,620 $5,811 $7,543 $8,156 $7,620
Housing $11,256 $15,699 $15,699 $18,997 $12,600 $15,699 $15,699 $18,997 $12,600 $15,699 $15,699 $18,997
Transportation $10,120 $11,711 $14,752 $16,975 $11,711 $14,752 $16,975 $16,955 $11,711 $14,752 $16,975 $16,955
Civic $3,013 $5,303 $6,675 $7,730 $5,303 $6,675 $7,730 $7,226 $5,303 $6,675 $7,730 $7,226
Internet & Mobile $1,389 $1,389 $1,389 $1,389 $1,954 $1,954 $1,954 $1,954 $1,954 $1,954 $1,954 $1,954
Other $4,417 $7,884 $8,383 $11,588 $7,884 $8,383 $11,588 $11,139 $7,884 $8,383 $11,588 $11,139
Required annual income after taxes $37,883 $71,655 $94,101 $120,473 $53,275 $64,978 $74,943 $79,548 $53,275 $80,513 $104,942 $122,346
Annual taxes $7,051 $11,249 $15,791 $23,446 $8,341 $8,902 $9,023 $7,773 $8,341 $12,148 $15,244 $18,473
Required annual income before taxes $44,933 $82,903 $109,892 $143,918 $61,616 $73,880 $83,967 $87,321 $61,616 $92,662 $120,186 $140,820

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 $133,990
Business & Financial Operations $82,870
Computer & Mathematical $92,860
Architecture & Engineering $85,070
Life, Physical, & Social Science $75,400
Community & Social Service $53,240
Legal $107,040
Education, Training, & Library $65,910
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $65,360
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $90,870
Healthcare Support $35,890
Protective Service $57,930
Food Preparation & Serving Related $36,050
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $37,240
Personal Care & Service $37,400
Sales & Related $49,750
Office & Administrative Support $46,180
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $36,170
Construction & Extraction $60,470
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $54,740
Production $45,060
Transportation & Material Moving $41,870