Living Wage Calculation for Ames, IA

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 $15.76 $30.92 $39.68 $52.05 $24.91 $30.78 $35.79 $40.00 $12.32 $17.42 $22.07 $26.31
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 $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

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 $4,010 $5,919 $8,894 $11,789 $7,352 $9,159 $11,812 $14,374 $7,352 $9,159 $11,812 $14,374
Child Care $0 $7,161 $14,323 $21,484 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $7,161 $14,323 $21,484
Medical $3,416 $8,178 $8,188 $8,113 $5,914 $8,188 $8,113 $8,266 $5,914 $8,188 $8,113 $8,266
Housing $7,422 $8,894 $8,894 $12,638 $7,526 $8,894 $8,894 $12,638 $7,422 $8,894 $8,894 $12,638
Transportation $5,356 $9,634 $11,780 $14,164 $9,634 $11,780 $14,164 $15,187 $9,634 $11,780 $14,164 $15,187
Civic $2,959 $5,878 $6,565 $8,951 $5,878 $6,565 $8,951 $7,118 $5,878 $6,565 $8,951 $7,118
Other $4,811 $8,394 $9,905 $10,871 $8,394 $9,905 $10,871 $12,160 $8,394 $9,905 $10,871 $12,160
Required annual income after taxes $28,106 $54,190 $68,680 $88,142 $44,830 $54,622 $62,938 $69,875 $44,726 $61,784 $77,261 $91,358
Annual taxes $4,667 $10,133 $13,848 $20,131 $6,977 $9,400 $11,513 $13,326 $6,541 $10,699 $14,541 $18,073
Required annual income before taxes $32,773 $64,322 $82,528 $108,273 $51,807 $64,022 $74,450 $83,201 $51,267 $72,483 $91,801 $109,432

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $106,703
Business & Financial Operations $69,978
Computer & Mathematical $86,218
Architecture & Engineering $83,241
Life, Physical, & Social Science $67,563
Community & Social Service $52,249
Legal $81,257
Education, Training, & Library $54,333
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $53,914
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $66,273
Healthcare Support $33,539
Protective Service $65,998
Food Preparation & Serving Related $26,119
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $32,933
Personal Care & Service $30,992
Sales & Related $31,775
Office & Administrative Support $41,521
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $32,404
Construction & Extraction $51,863
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $52,337
Production $41,621
Transportation & Material Moving $39,581