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 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 $26.36 $50.39 $65.26 $84.94 $36.04 $43.49 $48.77 $53.86 $18.02 $27.40 $35.15 $41.97
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 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42 $14.42

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 $5,216 $7,689 $11,533 $15,329 $9,563 $11,903 $15,330 $18,692 $9,563 $11,903 $15,330 $18,692
Child Care $0 $19,466 $35,951 $48,435 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $19,466 $35,951 $48,435
Medical $2,677 $8,010 $7,899 $8,361 $5,632 $7,899 $8,361 $7,956 $5,632 $7,899 $8,361 $7,956
Housing $19,118 $26,742 $26,742 $34,956 $21,989 $26,742 $26,742 $34,956 $21,989 $26,742 $26,742 $34,956
Transportation $9,403 $10,882 $13,708 $15,773 $10,882 $13,708 $15,773 $15,755 $10,882 $13,708 $15,773 $15,755
Civic $3,032 $5,335 $6,715 $7,776 $5,335 $6,715 $7,776 $7,269 $5,335 $6,715 $7,776 $7,269
Internet & Mobile $2,012 $2,012 $2,012 $2,012 $2,606 $2,606 $2,606 $2,606 $2,606 $2,606 $2,606 $2,606
Other $4,739 $8,459 $8,994 $12,431 $8,459 $8,994 $12,431 $11,950 $8,459 $8,994 $12,431 $11,950
Required annual income after taxes $46,197 $88,595 $113,552 $145,073 $64,466 $78,567 $89,020 $99,184 $64,466 $98,033 $124,971 $147,619
Annual taxes $8,625 $16,217 $22,198 $31,597 $10,487 $11,900 $12,431 $12,848 $10,487 $15,970 $21,255 $26,996
Required annual income before taxes $54,822 $104,812 $135,750 $176,670 $74,953 $90,467 $101,450 $112,032 $74,953 $114,003 $146,226 $174,615

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 $149,300
Business & Financial Operations $88,330
Computer & Mathematical $116,620
Architecture & Engineering $102,750
Life, Physical, & Social Science $88,100
Community & Social Service $57,430
Legal $131,120
Education, Training, & Library $57,700
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $72,140
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $99,690
Healthcare Support $40,120
Protective Service $57,630
Food Preparation & Serving Related $37,280
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $39,770
Personal Care & Service $42,020
Sales & Related $61,270
Office & Administrative Support $48,660
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $40,860
Construction & Extraction $57,430
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $59,550
Production $48,120
Transportation & Material Moving $48,520