Living Wage Calculation for Boulder County, Colorado

The living wage shown is the hourly rate that an individual in a household must earn to support his or herself and their family. The assumption is the sole provider is working full-time (2080 hours per year). The tool provides information for individuals, and households with one or two working adults and zero to three children. In the case of households with two working adults, all values are per working adult, single or in a family unless otherwise noted.

The state minimum wage is the same for all individuals, regardless of how many dependents they may have. Data are updated annually, in the first quarter of the new year. State minimum wages are determined based on the posted value of the minimum wage as of January one of the coming year (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2019). The poverty rate reflects a person's gross annual income. We have converted it to an hourly wage for the sake of comparison.

For further detail, please reference the technical documentation here.

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 $20.60 $43.87 $58.47 $78.87 $31.55 $39.13 $44.30 $50.89 $15.78 $24.02 $31.05 $39.38
Poverty Wage $6.53 $8.80 $11.07 $13.34 $8.80 $11.07 $13.34 $15.61 $4.40 $5.54 $6.67 $7.81
Minimum Wage $13.65 $13.65 $13.65 $13.65 $13.65 $13.65 $13.65 $13.65 $13.65 $13.65 $13.65 $13.65

Typical Expenses

These figures show the individual expenses that went into the living wage estimate. Their values vary by family size, composition, and the current location.

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 $4,686 $6,916 $10,392 $13,774 $8,591 $10,702 $13,802 $16,795 $8,591 $10,702 $13,802 $16,795
Child Care $0 $14,914 $29,827 $44,741 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $14,914 $29,827 $44,741
Medical $2,964 $9,385 $9,395 $9,321 $6,754 $9,395 $9,321 $9,473 $6,754 $9,395 $9,321 $9,473
Housing $15,818 $21,534 $21,534 $28,975 $17,850 $21,534 $21,534 $28,975 $17,850 $21,534 $21,534 $28,975
Transportation $5,316 $9,561 $11,691 $14,058 $9,561 $11,691 $14,058 $15,073 $9,561 $11,691 $14,058 $15,073
Civic $2,920 $5,801 $6,480 $8,835 $5,801 $6,480 $8,835 $7,025 $5,801 $6,480 $8,835 $7,025
Other $4,596 $8,020 $9,463 $10,386 $8,020 $9,463 $10,386 $11,617 $8,020 $9,463 $10,386 $11,617
Required annual income after taxes $36,432 $76,263 $98,913 $130,220 $56,709 $69,396 $78,066 $89,090 $56,709 $84,310 $107,893 $133,831
Annual taxes $6,418 $14,978 $22,698 $33,829 $8,916 $11,987 $14,085 $16,754 $8,916 $15,597 $21,261 $29,970
Required annual income before taxes $42,850 $91,240 $121,611 $164,050 $65,625 $81,383 $92,152 $105,843 $65,625 $99,907 $129,154 $163,801

Typical Annual Salaries

These are the typical annual salaries for various professions in this location.

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $139,427
Business & Financial Operations $85,568
Computer & Mathematical $110,441
Architecture & Engineering $104,884
Life, Physical, & Social Science $85,413
Community & Social Service $54,642
Legal $90,298
Education, Training, & Library $54,950
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $63,164
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $85,590
Healthcare Support $39,802
Protective Service $53,219
Food Preparation & Serving Related $32,977
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $39,372
Personal Care & Service $33,572
Sales & Related $41,069
Office & Administrative Support $47,596
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $35,127
Construction & Extraction $53,638
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $55,303
Production $42,117
Transportation & Material Moving $42,205