Living Wage Calculation for Elkhart-Goshen, IN

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 $20.61 $35.23 $43.52 $54.89 $28.37 $33.95 $38.52 $40.38 $14.18 $19.90 $24.48 $27.14
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 $3,853 $5,680 $8,519 $11,323 $7,064 $8,793 $11,324 $13,807 $7,064 $8,793 $11,324 $13,807
Child Care $0 $10,392 $18,635 $24,515 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $10,392 $18,635 $24,515
Medical $3,348 $8,670 $8,530 $9,109 $6,793 $8,530 $9,109 $8,603 $6,793 $8,530 $9,109 $8,603
Housing $10,241 $13,292 $13,292 $17,068 $10,603 $13,292 $13,292 $17,068 $10,603 $13,292 $13,292 $17,068
Transportation $10,709 $12,394 $15,612 $17,964 $12,394 $15,612 $17,964 $17,943 $12,394 $15,612 $17,964 $17,943
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 $1,396 $1,396 $1,396 $1,396 $1,966 $1,966 $1,966 $1,966 $1,966 $1,966 $1,966 $1,966
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 $36,522 $64,201 $80,138 $99,505 $51,197 $62,347 $71,785 $76,617 $51,197 $72,739 $90,419 $101,133
Annual taxes $6,350 $9,075 $10,380 $14,661 $7,807 $8,273 $8,346 $7,366 $7,807 $10,050 $11,410 $11,775
Required annual income before taxes $42,872 $73,277 $90,518 $114,166 $59,004 $70,620 $80,131 $83,983 $59,004 $82,789 $101,829 $112,908

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 $118,150
Business & Financial Operations $69,870
Computer & Mathematical $77,180
Architecture & Engineering $71,820
Life, Physical, & Social Science $69,260
Community & Social Service $47,180
Legal $72,560
Education, Training, & Library $46,780
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $52,310
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $87,920
Healthcare Support $36,550
Protective Service $46,530
Food Preparation & Serving Related $28,320
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $35,230
Personal Care & Service $32,330
Sales & Related $51,720
Office & Administrative Support $45,430
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $38,840
Construction & Extraction $58,450
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $54,170
Production $49,850
Transportation & Material Moving $42,120