Living Wage Calculation for Lake Charles, LA

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 $15.64 $32.24 $40.94 $52.72 $25.53 $31.75 $36.66 $39.99 $12.67 $18.04 $22.66 $26.49
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 $7,315 $14,629 $21,944 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $7,315 $14,629 $21,944
Medical $3,274 $9,590 $9,600 $9,525 $7,459 $9,600 $9,525 $9,678 $7,459 $9,600 $9,525 $9,678
Housing $7,920 $10,608 $10,608 $13,284 $8,256 $10,608 $10,608 $13,284 $7,920 $10,608 $10,608 $13,284
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 $28,056 $56,816 $71,297 $89,818 $46,421 $56,927 $65,222 $70,839 $46,085 $64,242 $79,851 $92,782
Annual taxes $4,471 $10,235 $13,855 $19,846 $6,677 $9,110 $11,031 $12,332 $6,606 $10,805 $14,421 $17,416
Required annual income before taxes $32,527 $67,052 $85,151 $109,665 $53,098 $66,037 $76,253 $83,171 $52,691 $75,047 $94,272 $110,199

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $104,267
Business & Financial Operations $68,137
Computer & Mathematical $66,582
Architecture & Engineering $88,082
Life, Physical, & Social Science $68,710
Community & Social Service $52,249
Legal $63,782
Education, Training, & Library $54,829
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $40,606
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $65,755
Healthcare Support $25,700
Protective Service $40,187
Food Preparation & Serving Related $21,521
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $26,207
Personal Care & Service $24,002
Sales & Related $26,373
Office & Administrative Support $38,104
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $32,734
Construction & Extraction $52,117
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $53,804
Production $65,469
Transportation & Material Moving $39,107