Living Wage Calculation for Bellingham, WA

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 $17.30 $36.32 $47.41 $63.69 $27.44 $34.30 $39.28 $44.98 $13.48 $20.26 $25.86 $31.92
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 $15.74 $15.74 $15.74 $15.74 $15.74 $15.74 $15.74 $15.74 $15.74 $15.74 $15.74 $15.74

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 $10,817 $21,634 $32,452 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $10,817 $21,634 $32,452
Medical $2,779 $9,036 $9,046 $8,971 $6,580 $9,046 $8,971 $9,124 $6,580 $9,046 $8,971 $9,124
Housing $11,112 $15,048 $15,048 $21,372 $11,952 $15,048 $15,048 $21,372 $11,112 $15,048 $15,048 $21,372
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 $31,541 $65,331 $83,885 $109,979 $50,637 $62,561 $71,231 $81,138 $49,797 $73,378 $92,865 $113,590
Annual taxes $4,438 $10,216 $14,721 $22,489 $6,431 $8,774 $10,478 $12,425 $6,266 $10,900 $14,729 $19,215
Required annual income before taxes $35,980 $75,547 $98,605 $132,468 $57,068 $71,335 $81,709 $93,563 $56,063 $84,278 $107,594 $132,805

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $126,979
Business & Financial Operations $74,476
Computer & Mathematical $87,211
Architecture & Engineering $88,115
Life, Physical, & Social Science $69,372
Community & Social Service $54,421
Legal $82,911
Education, Training, & Library $66,803
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $53,980
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $83,727
Healthcare Support $39,978
Protective Service $80,209
Food Preparation & Serving Related $34,146
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $36,979
Personal Care & Service $32,723
Sales & Related $39,757
Office & Administrative Support $46,031
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $42,271
Construction & Extraction $66,814
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $63,010
Production $42,900
Transportation & Material Moving $42,205