Living Wage Calculation for Columbus, GA

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 $15.52 $31.15 $39.21 $50.68 $25.39 $31.20 $36.11 $39.86 $12.45 $17.51 $21.88 $25.67
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 $6,342 $12,685 $19,027 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $6,342 $12,685 $19,027
Medical $3,198 $9,213 $9,223 $9,149 $6,638 $9,223 $9,149 $9,302 $6,638 $9,223 $9,149 $9,302
Housing $7,578 $9,583 $9,583 $13,002 $8,390 $9,583 $9,583 $13,002 $7,578 $9,583 $9,583 $13,002
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 $27,637 $54,442 $67,951 $86,243 $45,735 $55,526 $63,820 $70,179 $44,923 $61,868 $76,505 $89,207
Annual taxes $4,650 $10,354 $13,608 $19,170 $7,075 $9,370 $11,299 $12,736 $6,885 $10,981 $14,521 $17,569
Required annual income before taxes $32,287 $64,797 $81,559 $105,413 $52,810 $64,896 $75,119 $82,916 $51,809 $72,849 $91,026 $106,776

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $96,825
Business & Financial Operations $67,464
Computer & Mathematical $93,241
Architecture & Engineering $83,352
Life, Physical, & Social Science $68,732
Community & Social Service $49,548
Legal $70,187
Education, Training, & Library $51,698
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $45,094
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $67,288
Healthcare Support $31,334
Protective Service $43,230
Food Preparation & Serving Related $23,263
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $28,644
Personal Care & Service $24,024
Sales & Related $27,222
Office & Administrative Support $37,740
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $32,271
Construction & Extraction $41,202
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $49,768
Production $39,713
Transportation & Material Moving $32,282