Living Wage Calculation for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

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 $20.93 $37.74 $48.68 $63.36 $29.17 $35.08 $40.10 $42.91 $14.47 $21.20 $26.90 $31.04
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 $4,400 $6,486 $9,728 $12,930 $8,066 $10,041 $12,931 $15,767 $8,066 $10,041 $12,931 $15,767
Child Care $0 $13,080 $24,242 $33,201 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $13,080 $24,242 $33,201
Medical $3,383 $8,994 $8,854 $9,433 $6,631 $8,854 $9,433 $8,926 $6,631 $8,854 $9,433 $8,926
Housing $9,934 $12,890 $12,890 $17,641 $10,691 $12,890 $12,890 $17,641 $10,691 $12,890 $12,890 $17,641
Transportation $10,591 $12,257 $15,440 $17,766 $12,257 $15,440 $17,766 $17,745 $12,257 $15,440 $17,766 $17,745
Civic $2,889 $5,083 $6,398 $7,409 $5,083 $6,398 $7,409 $6,926 $5,083 $6,398 $7,409 $6,926
Internet & Mobile $1,563 $1,563 $1,563 $1,563 $2,133 $2,133 $2,133 $2,133 $2,133 $2,133 $2,133 $2,133
Other $4,086 $7,294 $7,756 $10,720 $7,294 $7,756 $10,720 $10,305 $7,294 $7,756 $10,720 $10,305
Required annual income after taxes $36,846 $67,647 $86,871 $110,662 $52,156 $63,511 $73,282 $79,442 $52,156 $76,591 $97,524 $112,643
Annual taxes $6,688 $10,859 $14,385 $21,117 $8,514 $9,457 $10,119 $9,820 $8,049 $11,608 $14,377 $16,463
Required annual income before taxes $43,534 $78,506 $101,256 $131,779 $60,670 $72,968 $83,401 $89,262 $60,205 $88,199 $111,901 $129,106

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 $117,690
Business & Financial Operations $79,940
Computer & Mathematical $95,970
Architecture & Engineering $81,880
Life, Physical, & Social Science $72,050
Community & Social Service $54,660
Legal $93,990
Education, Training, & Library $52,390
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $56,320
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $89,900
Healthcare Support $36,720
Protective Service $52,310
Food Preparation & Serving Related $29,330
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $34,720
Personal Care & Service $31,680
Sales & Related $48,970
Office & Administrative Support $46,250
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $41,320
Construction & Extraction $58,260
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $54,310
Production $43,670
Transportation & Material Moving $45,260