Living Wage Calculation for Knox County, Maine

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 2025 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 10, 2025.

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 $21.56 $39.23 $49.89 $65.42 $31.69 $37.55 $41.90 $47.52 $15.85 $22.37 $27.74 $34.52
Poverty Wage $7.52 $10.17 $12.81 $15.46 $10.17 $12.81 $15.46 $18.10 $5.08 $6.41 $7.73 $9.05
Minimum Wage $14.65 $14.65 $14.65 $14.65 $14.65 $14.65 $14.65 $14.65 $14.65 $14.65 $14.65 $14.65

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 $4,907 $7,215 $10,808 $14,380 $8,996 $11,181 $14,383 $17,545 $8,996 $11,181 $14,383 $17,545
Child Care $0 $12,449 $23,472 $35,332 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $12,449 $23,472 $35,332
Medical $3,376 $8,271 $8,362 $8,457 $7,008 $9,474 $9,814 $10,192 $7,008 $9,474 $9,814 $10,192
Housing $9,737 $14,195 $14,195 $17,726 $12,014 $14,195 $14,195 $17,726 $12,014 $14,195 $14,195 $17,726
Transportation $10,360 $11,989 $15,102 $17,377 $11,989 $15,102 $17,377 $19,277 $11,989 $15,102 $17,377 $19,277
Civic $3,535 $6,224 $6,871 $8,810 $6,224 $6,871 $8,810 $9,774 $6,224 $6,871 $8,810 $9,774
Internet & Mobile $1,430 $1,430 $1,430 $1,430 $2,001 $2,001 $2,001 $2,001 $2,001 $2,001 $2,001 $2,001
Other $4,566 $8,771 $9,189 $11,046 $8,771 $9,730 $11,046 $12,254 $8,771 $9,730 $11,046 $12,254
Required annual income after taxes $37,911 $70,545 $89,431 $114,559 $57,002 $68,554 $77,627 $88,768 $57,002 $81,003 $101,099 $124,100
Annual taxes $6,942 $11,058 $14,350 $21,511 $8,923 $9,554 $9,530 $10,073 $8,923 $12,058 $14,306 $19,512
Required annual income before taxes $44,853 $81,603 $103,780 $136,070 $65,925 $78,108 $87,157 $98,841 $65,925 $93,062 $115,404 $143,612

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 $115,690
Business & Financial Operations $82,600
Computer & Mathematical $91,140
Architecture & Engineering $89,430
Life, Physical, & Social Science $75,140
Community & Social Service $54,650
Legal $92,950
Education, Training, & Library $59,560
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $57,500
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $99,680
Healthcare Support $40,650
Protective Service $52,560
Food Preparation & Serving Related $39,530
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $40,160
Personal Care & Service $39,090
Sales & Related $48,630
Office & Administrative Support $46,760
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $44,630
Construction & Extraction $56,050
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $57,450
Production $48,990
Transportation & Material Moving $44,150