Living Wage Calculation for District of Columbia

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 $23.90 $48.30 $62.51 $77.96 $31.39 $37.47 $41.94 $45.80 $15.64 $26.00 $33.13 $38.31
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 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00

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 $5,340 $7,872 $11,807 $15,693 $9,790 $12,186 $15,695 $19,136 $9,790 $12,186 $15,695 $19,136
Child Care $0 $24,886 $41,181 $50,514 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $24,886 $41,181 $50,514
Medical $2,789 $8,434 $8,320 $8,792 $6,155 $8,320 $8,792 $8,379 $6,155 $8,320 $8,792 $8,379
Housing $20,219 $23,334 $23,334 $29,027 $20,572 $23,334 $23,334 $29,027 $20,572 $23,334 $23,334 $29,027
Transportation $6,386 $7,390 $9,309 $10,711 $7,390 $9,309 $10,711 $10,699 $7,390 $9,309 $10,711 $10,699
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 $2,164 $2,164 $2,164 $2,164 $2,744 $2,744 $2,744 $2,744 $2,744 $2,744 $2,744 $2,744
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 $42,965 $84,856 $108,316 $132,693 $57,427 $68,094 $77,066 $85,017 $57,427 $92,981 $118,246 $135,531
Annual taxes $6,748 $15,614 $21,709 $29,465 $7,868 $9,848 $10,175 $10,254 $7,647 $15,198 $19,577 $23,826
Required annual income before taxes $49,714 $100,469 $130,025 $162,158 $65,295 $77,942 $87,240 $95,270 $65,075 $108,179 $137,823 $159,357

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 $163,960
Business & Financial Operations $107,730
Computer & Mathematical $119,610
Architecture & Engineering $118,540
Life, Physical, & Social Science $116,960
Community & Social Service $71,530
Legal $202,480
Education, Training, & Library $79,490
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $109,130
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $109,450
Healthcare Support $39,850
Protective Service $72,430
Food Preparation & Serving Related $44,850
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $40,330
Personal Care & Service $46,690
Sales & Related $56,250
Office & Administrative Support $59,030
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $52,380
Construction & Extraction $68,740
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $62,470
Production $66,460
Transportation & Material Moving $52,140