Living Wage Calculation for Louisville/Jefferson County, KY

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 $21.05 $35.08 $43.35 $55.61 $29.03 $34.65 $39.13 $41.79 $14.51 $19.78 $24.34 $27.56
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 $3,975 $5,859 $8,789 $11,681 $7,287 $9,071 $11,682 $14,244 $7,287 $9,071 $11,682 $14,244
Child Care $0 $8,786 $17,122 $23,463 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $8,786 $17,122 $23,463
Medical $2,787 $8,130 $8,010 $8,505 $6,126 $8,010 $8,505 $8,072 $6,126 $8,010 $8,505 $8,072
Housing $11,659 $15,532 $15,532 $20,283 $12,854 $15,532 $15,532 $20,283 $12,854 $15,532 $15,532 $20,283
Transportation $10,640 $12,314 $15,511 $17,848 $12,314 $15,511 $17,848 $17,827 $12,314 $15,511 $17,848 $17,827
Civic $2,319 $4,081 $5,136 $5,948 $4,081 $5,136 $5,948 $5,560 $4,081 $5,136 $5,948 $5,560
Internet & Mobile $1,533 $1,533 $1,533 $1,533 $2,110 $2,110 $2,110 $2,110 $2,110 $2,110 $2,110 $2,110
Other $3,942 $7,036 $7,481 $10,340 $7,036 $7,481 $10,340 $9,940 $7,036 $7,481 $10,340 $9,940
Required annual income after taxes $36,854 $63,270 $79,113 $99,599 $51,807 $62,851 $71,964 $78,035 $51,807 $71,637 $89,086 $101,498
Annual taxes $6,929 $9,692 $11,065 $16,062 $8,567 $9,230 $9,422 $8,880 $8,567 $10,653 $12,165 $13,164
Required annual income before taxes $43,783 $72,962 $90,178 $115,661 $60,374 $72,080 $81,386 $86,915 $60,374 $82,290 $101,251 $114,662

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 $112,870
Business & Financial Operations $76,290
Computer & Mathematical $85,010
Architecture & Engineering $80,590
Life, Physical, & Social Science $69,790
Community & Social Service $52,350
Legal $87,730
Education, Training, & Library $57,160
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $57,240
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $92,430
Healthcare Support $35,870
Protective Service $42,110
Food Preparation & Serving Related $28,370
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $32,500
Personal Care & Service $31,370
Sales & Related $46,530
Office & Administrative Support $43,590
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $39,660
Construction & Extraction $54,110
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $56,700
Production $45,770
Transportation & Material Moving $51,220