Living Wage Calculation for Knox County, Tennessee

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 $20.85 $34.07 $42.63 $52.69 $27.95 $33.46 $37.75 $40.38 $13.97 $19.23 $23.88 $26.26
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 $4,472 $6,593 $9,889 $13,144 $8,200 $10,207 $13,145 $16,027 $8,200 $10,207 $13,145 $16,027
Child Care $0 $9,210 $18,419 $22,100 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $9,210 $18,419 $22,100
Medical $2,949 $8,290 $8,176 $8,648 $6,099 $8,176 $8,648 $8,235 $6,099 $8,176 $8,648 $8,235
Housing $12,538 $15,541 $15,541 $20,085 $12,728 $15,541 $15,541 $20,085 $12,728 $15,541 $15,541 $20,085
Transportation $9,742 $11,274 $14,202 $16,341 $11,274 $14,202 $16,341 $16,322 $11,274 $14,202 $16,341 $16,322
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 $2,045 $2,045 $2,045 $2,045 $2,625 $2,625 $2,625 $2,625 $2,625 $2,625 $2,625 $2,625
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 $37,814 $63,730 $80,475 $98,155 $51,702 $62,953 $72,091 $78,327 $51,702 $72,163 $90,511 $100,427
Annual taxes $5,563 $7,134 $8,202 $11,444 $6,424 $6,635 $6,431 $5,656 $6,424 $7,845 $8,850 $8,799
Required annual income before taxes $43,377 $70,864 $88,677 $109,599 $58,127 $69,588 $78,522 $83,983 $58,127 $80,007 $99,361 $109,226

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 $119,660
Business & Financial Operations $70,320
Computer & Mathematical $85,390
Architecture & Engineering $82,940
Life, Physical, & Social Science $75,490
Community & Social Service $48,170
Legal $106,180
Education, Training, & Library $52,110
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $57,350
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $84,650
Healthcare Support $33,500
Protective Service $44,040
Food Preparation & Serving Related $27,050
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $31,810
Personal Care & Service $32,030
Sales & Related $43,640
Office & Administrative Support $42,170
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $38,410
Construction & Extraction $48,250
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $51,100
Production $42,380
Transportation & Material Moving $40,860