Living Wage Calculation for Kingsport-Bristol, TN

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 2025 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 10, 2025.

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 $18.81 $32.30 $39.22 $47.98 $26.98 $33.14 $36.59 $41.48 $13.47 $18.52 $22.21 $25.77
Poverty Wage $7.52 $10.17 $12.81 $15.46 $10.17 $12.81 $15.46 $18.10 $5.08 $6.41 $7.73 $9.05
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 $4,126 $6,067 $9,088 $12,091 $7,564 $9,402 $12,094 $14,753 $7,564 $9,402 $12,094 $14,753
Child Care $0 $7,279 $14,557 $18,333 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $7,279 $14,557 $18,333
Medical $3,282 $9,488 $9,561 $9,637 $6,868 $10,449 $10,721 $11,022 $6,868 $10,449 $10,721 $11,022
Housing $8,893 $12,568 $12,568 $16,183 $9,929 $12,568 $12,568 $16,183 $9,929 $12,568 $12,568 $16,183
Transportation $9,599 $11,108 $13,993 $16,100 $11,108 $13,993 $16,100 $17,861 $11,108 $13,993 $16,100 $17,861
Civic $2,589 $4,557 $5,031 $6,450 $4,557 $5,031 $6,450 $7,156 $4,557 $5,031 $6,450 $7,156
Internet & Mobile $1,521 $1,521 $1,521 $1,521 $2,103 $2,103 $2,103 $2,103 $2,103 $2,103 $2,103 $2,103
Other $3,770 $7,242 $7,587 $9,120 $7,242 $8,033 $9,120 $10,117 $7,242 $8,033 $9,120 $10,117
Required annual income after taxes $33,778 $59,830 $73,906 $89,436 $49,371 $61,579 $69,157 $79,196 $49,371 $68,857 $83,714 $97,528
Annual taxes $5,341 $7,358 $7,679 $10,370 $6,746 $7,360 $6,945 $7,073 $6,660 $8,181 $8,675 $9,667
Required annual income before taxes $39,119 $67,188 $81,585 $99,807 $56,117 $68,939 $76,102 $86,269 $56,031 $77,038 $92,389 $107,195

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 $115,500
Business & Financial Operations $74,310
Computer & Mathematical $88,740
Architecture & Engineering $90,440
Life, Physical, & Social Science $90,200
Community & Social Service $48,740
Legal $106,810
Education, Training, & Library $50,010
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $47,060
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $83,090
Healthcare Support $34,440
Protective Service $47,830
Food Preparation & Serving Related $29,220
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $33,600
Personal Care & Service $31,320
Sales & Related $40,710
Office & Administrative Support $41,430
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $41,280
Construction & Extraction $50,890
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $53,460
Production $47,010
Transportation & Material Moving $39,680