Living Wage Calculation for Wake County, North Carolina

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 $25.30 $42.76 $53.49 $67.53 $33.35 $39.06 $43.69 $46.80 $16.68 $23.70 $29.08 $33.34
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 $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

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 $4,664 $6,875 $10,312 $13,707 $8,551 $10,644 $13,708 $16,714 $8,551 $10,644 $13,708 $16,714
Child Care $0 $14,347 $25,014 $33,243 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $14,347 $25,014 $33,243
Medical $3,096 $9,590 $9,476 $9,948 $7,210 $9,476 $9,948 $9,535 $7,210 $9,476 $9,948 $9,535
Housing $18,413 $21,239 $21,239 $26,258 $18,916 $21,239 $21,239 $26,258 $18,916 $21,239 $21,239 $26,258
Transportation $10,277 $11,894 $14,982 $17,239 $11,894 $14,982 $17,239 $17,219 $11,894 $14,982 $17,239 $17,219
Civic $2,165 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $5,191 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $5,191
Internet & Mobile $1,603 $1,603 $1,603 $1,603 $2,183 $2,183 $2,183 $2,183 $2,183 $2,183 $2,183 $2,183
Other $3,903 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $9,841 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $9,841
Required annual income after taxes $44,122 $76,325 $94,829 $117,790 $59,530 $70,726 $80,108 $86,941 $59,530 $85,073 $105,121 $120,185
Annual taxes $8,496 $12,612 $16,428 $22,674 $9,842 $10,519 $10,770 $10,401 $9,842 $13,511 $15,864 $18,503
Required annual income before taxes $52,618 $88,936 $111,257 $140,464 $69,372 $81,245 $90,878 $97,342 $69,372 $98,583 $120,985 $138,687

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 $126,640
Business & Financial Operations $82,730
Computer & Mathematical $104,530
Architecture & Engineering $85,090
Life, Physical, & Social Science $74,320
Community & Social Service $51,620
Legal $102,780
Education, Training, & Library $52,930
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $66,670
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $87,180
Healthcare Support $33,240
Protective Service $42,860
Food Preparation & Serving Related $28,190
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $31,760
Personal Care & Service $33,440
Sales & Related $47,660
Office & Administrative Support $41,880
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $38,270
Construction & Extraction $47,720
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $52,160
Production $41,140
Transportation & Material Moving $38,520