Living Wage Calculation for Benton County, Iowa

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 $20.19 $35.28 $44.43 $56.81 $28.56 $34.92 $40.11 $41.99 $14.17 $20.11 $25.02 $27.95
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 $4,191 $6,178 $9,266 $12,316 $7,683 $9,564 $12,317 $15,018 $7,683 $9,564 $12,317 $15,018
Child Care $0 $9,694 $17,968 $24,607 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $9,694 $17,968 $24,607
Medical $3,363 $8,924 $8,784 $9,363 $6,587 $8,784 $9,363 $8,857 $6,587 $8,784 $9,363 $8,857
Housing $7,044 $10,398 $10,398 $13,751 $7,913 $10,398 $10,398 $13,751 $7,913 $10,398 $10,398 $13,751
Transportation $12,535 $14,507 $18,274 $21,027 $14,507 $18,274 $21,027 $21,002 $14,507 $18,274 $21,027 $21,002
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 $1,505 $1,505 $1,505 $1,505 $2,075 $2,075 $2,075 $2,075 $2,075 $2,075 $2,075 $2,075
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 $35,614 $63,583 $80,348 $100,698 $51,143 $63,248 $73,309 $77,934 $51,143 $72,943 $91,277 $102,541
Annual taxes $6,381 $9,794 $12,073 $17,470 $8,259 $9,386 $10,126 $9,414 $7,800 $10,700 $12,805 $13,719
Required annual income before taxes $41,995 $73,377 $92,421 $118,168 $59,402 $72,634 $83,435 $87,347 $58,943 $83,642 $104,082 $116,260

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 $104,060
Business & Financial Operations $74,080
Computer & Mathematical $88,210
Architecture & Engineering $81,880
Life, Physical, & Social Science $68,090
Community & Social Service $50,900
Legal $86,720
Education, Training, & Library $52,420
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $53,630
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $83,350
Healthcare Support $35,770
Protective Service $51,120
Food Preparation & Serving Related $28,090
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $33,990
Personal Care & Service $31,020
Sales & Related $43,210
Office & Administrative Support $43,150
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $41,670
Construction & Extraction $54,810
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $53,820
Production $44,380
Transportation & Material Moving $43,430