Living Wage Calculation for Decatur, AL

The living wage shown is the hourly rate that an individual in a household must earn to support themselves and/or their family, working full-time, or 2080 hours per year. The tables below provide living wage estimates for individuals and households with one or two working adults and zero to three children. In households with two working adults, all hourly values reflect what one working adult requires to earn to meet their families’ basic needs, assuming the other adult also earns the same.

The poverty wage and state minimum wage are for reference purposes. Poverty wage estimates come from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Poverty Guidelines for 2024 and have been converted from an annual value to an hourly wage for ease of comparison. The state minimum wage data is sourced from the Labor Law Center and includes the minimum wage in a given state as of January of that year.

For further detail, please reference the Methodology page. The data on this page was last updated on February 14, 2024.

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 $19.55 $32.40 $40.15 $51.71 $26.97 $32.16 $36.64 $38.53 $13.48 $18.47 $22.80 $25.84
Poverty Wage $7.24 $9.83 $12.41 $15.00 $9.83 $12.41 $15.00 $17.59 $4.91 $6.21 $7.50 $8.79
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

The table below shows the costs of each basic need that go into estimating the living wage. Like with the living wage, their values vary by location and family size.

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 $4,059 $5,983 $8,975 $11,929 $7,441 $9,263 $11,930 $14,545 $7,441 $9,263 $11,930 $14,545
Child Care $0 $8,489 $16,000 $22,987 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $8,489 $16,000 $22,987
Medical $3,112 $8,496 $8,382 $8,854 $6,521 $8,382 $8,854 $8,441 $6,521 $8,382 $8,854 $8,441
Housing $8,926 $11,145 $11,145 $14,499 $9,203 $11,145 $11,145 $14,499 $9,203 $11,145 $11,145 $14,499
Transportation $10,711 $12,395 $15,614 $17,966 $12,395 $15,614 $17,966 $17,945 $12,395 $15,614 $17,966 $17,945
Civic $2,165 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $5,191 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $5,191
Internet & Mobile $1,548 $1,548 $1,548 $1,548 $2,127 $2,127 $2,127 $2,127 $2,127 $2,127 $2,127 $2,127
Other $3,903 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $9,841 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $9,841
Required annual income after taxes $34,423 $58,833 $73,866 $93,573 $48,464 $58,734 $67,813 $72,590 $48,464 $67,223 $83,813 $95,577
Annual taxes $6,234 $8,563 $9,636 $13,979 $7,624 $8,169 $8,402 $7,563 $7,624 $9,607 $11,049 $11,920
Required annual income before taxes $40,657 $67,397 $83,502 $107,552 $56,089 $66,902 $76,215 $80,153 $56,089 $76,830 $94,862 $107,497

Typical Annual Salaries

The average annual salaries for various occupations in the table below comes from the latest state-level data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. When available, this data is specific to a given metro area.

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $111,500
Business & Financial Operations $72,910
Computer & Mathematical $84,090
Architecture & Engineering $98,180
Life, Physical, & Social Science $71,520
Community & Social Service $47,930
Legal $79,380
Education, Training, & Library $46,600
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $47,520
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $69,660
Healthcare Support $27,680
Protective Service $40,920
Food Preparation & Serving Related $25,470
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $29,560
Personal Care & Service $30,890
Sales & Related $40,180
Office & Administrative Support $38,260
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $34,960
Construction & Extraction $48,300
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $57,760
Production $48,450
Transportation & Material Moving $38,930