Living Wage Calculation for Los Alamos County, New Mexico

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 $16.90 $34.14 $43.15 $56.71 $27.16 $33.90 $38.99 $43.85 $13.58 $19.19 $23.97 $28.63
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 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00

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 $7,466 $14,933 $22,399 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $7,466 $14,933 $22,399
Medical $3,282 $9,162 $9,172 $9,097 $7,014 $9,172 $9,097 $9,250 $7,014 $9,172 $9,097 $9,250
Housing $9,535 $13,157 $13,157 $17,850 $10,471 $13,157 $13,157 $17,850 $10,471 $13,157 $13,157 $17,850
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 $30,467 $60,214 $75,418 $96,531 $49,590 $60,796 $69,466 $77,742 $49,590 $68,262 $84,399 $100,141
Annual taxes $4,694 $10,790 $14,333 $21,425 $6,903 $9,717 $11,643 $13,473 $6,903 $11,549 $15,309 $18,972
Required annual income before taxes $35,161 $71,005 $89,751 $117,956 $56,492 $70,512 $81,109 $91,215 $56,492 $79,811 $99,708 $119,113

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $104,785
Business & Financial Operations $69,272
Computer & Mathematical $85,061
Architecture & Engineering $107,045
Life, Physical, & Social Science $81,996
Community & Social Service $52,558
Legal $76,362
Education, Training, & Library $53,716
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $53,263
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $84,575
Healthcare Support $26,725
Protective Service $47,310
Food Preparation & Serving Related $26,185
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $30,816
Personal Care & Service $29,294
Sales & Related $31,985
Office & Administrative Support $40,518
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $29,118
Construction & Extraction $49,592
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $51,213
Production $40,959
Transportation & Material Moving $33,991