Living Wage Calculation for Durham-Chapel Hill, NC

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 $17.32 $36.93 $48.66 $64.21 $27.25 $33.77 $38.75 $42.75 $13.60 $20.41 $26.42 $31.96
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 $11,733 $23,467 $35,200 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $11,733 $23,467 $35,200
Medical $3,049 $10,543 $10,553 $10,478 $7,544 $10,553 $10,478 $10,631 $7,544 $10,553 $10,478 $10,631
Housing $10,807 $12,720 $12,720 $16,436 $10,871 $12,720 $12,720 $16,436 $10,807 $12,720 $12,720 $16,436
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 $30,717 $64,300 $83,199 $107,180 $49,122 $59,992 $68,287 $74,944 $49,058 $71,726 $91,753 $110,144
Annual taxes $5,307 $12,517 $18,013 $26,382 $7,548 $10,255 $12,320 $13,978 $7,533 $13,177 $18,164 $22,812
Required annual income before taxes $36,024 $76,817 $101,211 $133,562 $56,670 $70,247 $80,607 $88,922 $56,591 $84,902 $109,917 $132,956

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $140,838
Business & Financial Operations $87,751
Computer & Mathematical $112,602
Architecture & Engineering $88,004
Life, Physical, & Social Science $84,807
Community & Social Service $54,609
Legal $89,504
Education, Training, & Library $66,295
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $67,663
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $67,541
Healthcare Support $38,225
Protective Service $44,884
Food Preparation & Serving Related $27,310
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $33,594
Personal Care & Service $33,263
Sales & Related $36,538
Office & Administrative Support $43,705
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $39,757
Construction & Extraction $51,720
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $52,999
Production $41,808
Transportation & Material Moving $37,718