Living Wage Calculation for Story County, Iowa

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 $17.12 $33.74 $43.70 $58.41 $26.28 $32.42 $37.45 $42.35 $13.04 $18.83 $24.06 $29.23
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 $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

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 $4,010 $5,919 $8,894 $11,789 $7,352 $9,159 $11,812 $14,374 $7,352 $9,159 $11,812 $14,374
Child Care $0 $9,112 $18,224 $27,335 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $9,112 $18,224 $27,335
Medical $3,416 $8,178 $8,188 $8,113 $5,914 $8,188 $8,113 $8,266 $5,914 $8,188 $8,113 $8,266
Housing $9,695 $11,617 $11,617 $16,508 $9,831 $11,617 $11,617 $16,508 $9,831 $11,617 $11,617 $16,508
Transportation $5,356 $9,634 $11,780 $14,164 $9,634 $11,780 $14,164 $15,187 $9,634 $11,780 $14,164 $15,187
Civic $2,959 $5,878 $6,565 $8,951 $5,878 $6,565 $8,951 $7,118 $5,878 $6,565 $8,951 $7,118
Other $4,811 $8,394 $9,905 $10,871 $8,394 $9,905 $10,871 $12,160 $8,394 $9,905 $10,871 $12,160
Required annual income after taxes $30,379 $58,864 $75,304 $97,863 $47,135 $57,345 $65,661 $73,745 $47,135 $66,457 $83,885 $101,080
Annual taxes $5,228 $11,308 $15,584 $23,630 $7,526 $10,084 $12,226 $14,340 $7,101 $11,863 $16,204 $20,518
Required annual income before taxes $35,606 $70,172 $90,888 $121,493 $54,661 $67,430 $77,887 $88,084 $54,235 $78,320 $100,089 $121,598

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $100,220
Business & Financial Operations $69,427
Computer & Mathematical $88,048
Architecture & Engineering $85,446
Life, Physical, & Social Science $67,806
Community & Social Service $51,422
Legal $68,082
Education, Training, & Library $52,481
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $43,087
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $67,321
Healthcare Support $33,032
Protective Service $54,300
Food Preparation & Serving Related $26,428
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $33,043
Personal Care & Service $26,670
Sales & Related $32,359
Office & Administrative Support $41,731
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $41,025
Construction & Extraction $52,889
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $52,503
Production $41,621
Transportation & Material Moving $41,753