Living Wage Calculation for Iowa City, 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 $20.24 $37.89 $49.26 $64.44 $28.79 $34.63 $39.59 $42.55 $14.29 $21.24 $27.14 $31.57
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 $9,729 $12,931 $8,067 $10,041 $12,932 $15,768 $8,067 $10,041 $12,932 $15,768
Child Care $0 $13,959 $25,872 $35,432 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $13,959 $25,872 $35,432
Medical $3,361 $8,915 $8,775 $9,354 $6,581 $8,775 $9,354 $8,847 $6,581 $8,775 $9,354 $8,847
Housing $9,175 $12,765 $12,765 $17,750 $10,542 $12,765 $12,765 $17,750 $10,542 $12,765 $12,765 $17,750
Transportation $10,199 $11,803 $14,868 $17,108 $11,803 $14,868 $17,108 $17,088 $11,803 $14,868 $17,108 $17,088
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 $1,591 $1,591 $1,591 $1,591 $2,161 $2,161 $2,161 $2,161 $2,161 $2,161 $2,161 $2,161
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 $35,701 $67,897 $87,753 $112,295 $51,532 $62,764 $72,449 $78,844 $51,532 $76,723 $98,321 $114,277
Annual taxes $6,403 $10,924 $14,698 $21,745 $8,357 $9,263 $9,901 $9,660 $7,896 $11,641 $14,577 $17,057
Required annual income before taxes $42,104 $78,820 $102,451 $134,040 $59,889 $72,027 $82,350 $88,505 $59,428 $88,364 $112,898 $131,334

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 $99,590
Business & Financial Operations $69,980
Computer & Mathematical $82,730
Architecture & Engineering $77,950
Life, Physical, & Social Science $67,170
Community & Social Service $53,890
Legal $84,330
Education, Training, & Library $80,170
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $64,080
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $83,240
Healthcare Support $36,970
Protective Service $53,160
Food Preparation & Serving Related $28,730
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $35,430
Personal Care & Service $32,360
Sales & Related $39,940
Office & Administrative Support $43,750
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $38,870
Construction & Extraction $53,030
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $53,770
Production $43,270
Transportation & Material Moving $43,200