Living Wage Calculation for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

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 $28.88 $50.00 $62.31 $80.50 $38.53 $46.90 $50.95 $60.02 $19.26 $27.35 $33.56 $41.64
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 $16.50 $16.50 $16.50 $16.50 $16.50 $16.50 $16.50 $16.50 $16.50 $16.50 $16.50 $16.50

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 $4,458 $6,556 $9,820 $13,065 $8,173 $10,159 $13,068 $15,941 $8,173 $10,159 $13,068 $15,941
Child Care $0 $13,438 $26,669 $35,938 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $13,438 $26,669 $35,938
Medical $2,625 $8,189 $8,262 $8,339 $5,997 $9,156 $9,430 $9,733 $5,997 $9,156 $9,430 $9,733
Housing $23,828 $32,452 $32,452 $41,934 $26,177 $32,452 $32,452 $41,934 $26,177 $32,452 $32,452 $41,934
Transportation $9,798 $11,339 $14,284 $16,436 $11,339 $14,284 $16,436 $18,233 $11,339 $14,284 $16,436 $18,233
Civic $3,587 $6,314 $6,971 $8,938 $6,314 $6,971 $8,938 $9,915 $6,314 $6,971 $8,938 $9,915
Internet & Mobile $1,433 $1,433 $1,433 $1,433 $2,039 $2,039 $2,039 $2,039 $2,039 $2,039 $2,039 $2,039
Other $4,749 $9,123 $9,558 $11,490 $9,123 $10,121 $11,490 $12,746 $9,123 $10,121 $11,490 $12,746
Required annual income after taxes $50,479 $88,845 $109,450 $137,572 $69,162 $85,181 $93,852 $110,541 $69,162 $98,619 $120,521 $146,479
Annual taxes $9,598 $15,152 $20,160 $29,866 $10,978 $12,381 $12,131 $14,307 $10,978 $15,175 $19,100 $26,737
Required annual income before taxes $60,077 $103,997 $129,610 $167,438 $80,140 $97,562 $105,983 $124,848 $80,140 $113,795 $139,621 $173,216

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 $151,060
Business & Financial Operations $96,460
Computer & Mathematical $122,510
Architecture & Engineering $112,010
Life, Physical, & Social Science $100,740
Community & Social Service $69,040
Legal $173,060
Education, Training, & Library $81,190
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $104,240
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $117,130
Healthcare Support $39,150
Protective Service $65,150
Food Preparation & Serving Related $39,730
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $43,060
Personal Care & Service $42,890
Sales & Related $57,230
Office & Administrative Support $53,810
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $45,980
Construction & Extraction $73,370
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $66,550
Production $49,460
Transportation & Material Moving $50,410