Living Wage Calculation for Knoxville, TN

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 $15.57 $31.54 $39.89 $51.91 $25.41 $31.16 $35.93 $39.74 $12.42 $17.69 $22.19 $26.21
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 $7,349 $14,698 $22,047 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $7,349 $14,698 $22,047
Medical $3,213 $8,732 $8,743 $8,668 $6,943 $8,743 $8,668 $8,821 $6,943 $8,743 $8,668 $8,821
Housing $8,464 $11,643 $11,643 $15,330 $9,464 $11,643 $11,643 $15,330 $8,464 $11,643 $11,643 $15,330
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 $28,538 $57,028 $71,543 $91,111 $47,114 $57,105 $65,399 $72,027 $46,113 $64,454 $80,097 $94,075
Annual taxes $3,848 $8,585 $11,437 $16,863 $5,739 $7,702 $9,332 $10,634 $5,549 $9,146 $12,220 $14,967
Required annual income before taxes $32,387 $65,613 $82,980 $107,974 $52,852 $64,807 $74,731 $82,662 $51,662 $73,600 $92,318 $109,041

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $107,486
Business & Financial Operations $66,968
Computer & Mathematical $79,779
Architecture & Engineering $87,111
Life, Physical, & Social Science $67,762
Community & Social Service $44,035
Legal $68,181
Education, Training, & Library $52,878
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $51,036
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $66,538
Healthcare Support $31,918
Protective Service $43,539
Food Preparation & Serving Related $25,226
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $31,125
Personal Care & Service $25,987
Sales & Related $31,951
Office & Administrative Support $40,331
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $32,536
Construction & Extraction $50,684
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $51,422
Production $41,290
Transportation & Material Moving $33,991