Living Wage Calculation for Ames, IA

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 $20.12 $36.42 $46.98 $61.54 $28.24 $33.61 $38.45 $41.33 $14.01 $20.44 $26.03 $30.14
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 $4,255 $6,272 $9,408 $12,504 $7,800 $9,710 $12,505 $15,247 $7,800 $9,710 $12,505 $15,247
Child Care $0 $12,980 $24,058 $32,949 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $12,980 $24,058 $32,949
Medical $3,356 $8,898 $8,758 $9,337 $6,570 $8,758 $9,337 $8,830 $6,570 $8,758 $9,337 $8,830
Housing $9,624 $12,122 $12,122 $17,085 $10,481 $12,122 $12,122 $17,085 $10,481 $12,122 $12,122 $17,085
Transportation $9,784 $11,322 $14,262 $16,411 $11,322 $14,262 $16,411 $16,392 $11,322 $14,262 $16,411 $16,392
Civic $2,889 $5,083 $6,398 $7,409 $5,083 $6,398 $7,409 $6,926 $5,083 $6,398 $7,409 $6,926
Internet & Mobile $1,496 $1,496 $1,496 $1,496 $2,066 $2,066 $2,066 $2,066 $2,066 $2,066 $2,066 $2,066
Other $4,086 $7,294 $7,756 $10,720 $7,294 $7,756 $10,720 $10,305 $7,294 $7,756 $10,720 $10,305
Required annual income after taxes $35,490 $65,468 $84,258 $107,911 $50,618 $61,072 $70,570 $76,851 $50,618 $74,052 $94,629 $109,800
Annual taxes $6,350 $10,290 $13,459 $20,091 $8,127 $8,837 $9,408 $9,120 $7,671 $10,976 $13,648 $15,598
Required annual income before taxes $41,840 $75,759 $97,717 $128,001 $58,745 $69,909 $79,979 $85,971 $58,288 $85,028 $108,277 $125,398

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 $107,970
Business & Financial Operations $69,800
Computer & Mathematical $87,350
Architecture & Engineering $83,630
Life, Physical, & Social Science $67,940
Community & Social Service $51,020
Legal $98,680
Education, Training, & Library $61,920
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $55,370
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $77,980
Healthcare Support $36,860
Protective Service $56,400
Food Preparation & Serving Related $28,160
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $34,710
Personal Care & Service $32,630
Sales & Related $41,270
Office & Administrative Support $43,620
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $40,420
Construction & Extraction $52,430
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $51,740
Production $43,510
Transportation & Material Moving $38,850