Living Wage Calculation for Charleston-North Charleston, SC

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 $19.22 $33.98 $41.90 $54.11 $28.54 $34.15 $39.05 $43.25 $14.15 $18.87 $23.16 $27.15
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 $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 $6,247 $12,495 $18,742 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $6,247 $12,495 $18,742
Medical $3,041 $7,777 $7,787 $7,713 $6,350 $7,787 $7,713 $7,866 $6,350 $7,787 $7,713 $7,866
Housing $14,196 $16,464 $16,464 $20,652 $14,448 $16,464 $16,464 $20,652 $14,196 $16,464 $16,464 $20,652
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 $34,098 $59,792 $73,206 $92,172 $51,505 $60,971 $69,265 $76,394 $51,253 $67,218 $81,760 $95,136
Annual taxes $5,883 $10,891 $13,938 $20,370 $7,856 $10,068 $11,968 $13,558 $7,609 $11,281 $14,579 $17,807
Required annual income before taxes $39,981 $70,683 $87,144 $112,541 $59,361 $71,039 $81,233 $89,952 $58,862 $78,499 $96,339 $112,942

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $107,927
Business & Financial Operations $73,638
Computer & Mathematical $91,290
Architecture & Engineering $86,825
Life, Physical, & Social Science $68,589
Community & Social Service $50,805
Legal $57,222
Education, Training, & Library $55,634
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $51,863
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $71,852
Healthcare Support $33,363
Protective Service $44,465
Food Preparation & Serving Related $25,921
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $31,632
Personal Care & Service $28,523
Sales & Related $32,205
Office & Administrative Support $41,510
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $39,515
Construction & Extraction $44,763
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $52,161
Production $50,551
Transportation & Material Moving $34,730