Living Wage Calculation for Memphis, 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 $15.46 $31.10 $39.46 $51.41 $25.40 $30.71 $35.48 $39.26 $12.37 $17.47 $21.97 $25.98
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 $7,357 $14,713 $22,070 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $7,357 $14,713 $22,070
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 $8,275 $10,871 $10,871 $14,501 $9,442 $10,871 $10,871 $14,501 $8,275 $10,871 $10,871 $14,501
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 $28,349 $56,263 $70,786 $90,304 $47,092 $56,333 $64,627 $71,198 $45,924 $63,689 $79,340 $93,268
Annual taxes $3,811 $8,435 $11,288 $16,624 $5,735 $7,550 $9,180 $10,471 $5,516 $8,996 $12,071 $14,808
Required annual income before taxes $32,160 $64,698 $82,074 $106,928 $52,826 $63,883 $73,807 $81,670 $51,440 $72,685 $91,411 $108,076

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $108,423
Business & Financial Operations $67,541
Computer & Mathematical $71,114
Architecture & Engineering $85,446
Life, Physical, & Social Science $68,434
Community & Social Service $51,863
Legal $66,946
Education, Training, & Library $53,958
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $42,426
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $67,784
Healthcare Support $32,657
Protective Service $41,477
Food Preparation & Serving Related $24,708
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $31,577
Personal Care & Service $27,155
Sales & Related $32,139
Office & Administrative Support $41,069
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $34,741
Construction & Extraction $50,209
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $52,756
Production $40,728
Transportation & Material Moving $39,802