Living Wage Calculation for Charleston, WV

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 $14.40 $31.04 $39.74 $51.38 $24.34 $30.60 $35.55 $38.76 $11.85 $17.52 $22.22 $26.05
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 $8.75 $8.75 $8.75 $8.75 $8.75 $8.75 $8.75 $8.75 $8.75 $8.75 $8.75 $8.75

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 $3,926 $5,795 $8,707 $11,540 $7,198 $8,966 $11,564 $14,071 $7,198 $8,966 $11,564 $14,071
Child Care $0 $7,344 $14,687 $22,031 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $7,344 $14,687 $22,031
Medical $3,375 $9,680 $9,690 $9,615 $6,535 $9,690 $9,615 $9,768 $6,535 $9,690 $9,615 $9,768
Housing $5,558 $8,002 $8,002 $10,466 $6,664 $8,002 $8,002 $10,466 $5,558 $8,002 $8,002 $10,466
Transportation $5,477 $9,851 $12,045 $14,484 $9,851 $12,045 $14,484 $15,530 $9,851 $12,045 $14,484 $15,530
Civic $3,074 $6,107 $6,821 $9,300 $6,107 $6,821 $9,300 $7,395 $6,107 $6,821 $9,300 $7,395
Other $4,253 $7,420 $8,755 $9,610 $7,420 $8,755 $9,610 $10,749 $7,420 $8,755 $9,610 $10,749
Required annual income after taxes $25,794 $54,329 $68,839 $87,177 $43,906 $54,411 $62,706 $68,110 $42,800 $61,755 $77,393 $90,141
Annual taxes $4,158 $10,224 $13,830 $19,684 $6,723 $9,227 $11,234 $12,501 $6,478 $11,110 $15,039 $18,243
Required annual income before taxes $29,952 $64,553 $82,669 $106,861 $50,629 $63,638 $73,940 $80,611 $49,278 $72,865 $92,432 $108,384

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $88,026
Business & Financial Operations $67,729
Computer & Mathematical $66,615
Architecture & Engineering $71,422
Life, Physical, & Social Science $60,717
Community & Social Service $51,731
Legal $86,262
Education, Training, & Library $52,084
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $42,128
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $65,755
Healthcare Support $26,725
Protective Service $32,282
Food Preparation & Serving Related $24,487
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $27,189
Personal Care & Service $26,273
Sales & Related $30,452
Office & Administrative Support $39,802
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $41,874
Construction & Extraction $53,749
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $51,951
Production $40,518
Transportation & Material Moving $33,561