Living Wage Calculation for Owensboro, 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 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 $20.48 $33.06 $39.84 $50.36 $28.25 $34.25 $37.80 $43.29 $14.12 $18.97 $22.58 $26.97
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 $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 $3,789 $5,572 $8,346 $11,104 $6,947 $8,634 $11,106 $13,549 $6,947 $8,634 $11,106 $13,549
Child Care $0 $6,705 $13,411 $18,857 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $6,705 $13,411 $18,857
Medical $3,236 $8,236 $8,308 $8,384 $6,883 $9,197 $9,468 $9,770 $6,883 $9,197 $9,468 $9,770
Housing $10,291 $13,593 $13,593 $18,003 $10,363 $13,593 $13,593 $18,003 $10,363 $13,593 $13,593 $18,003
Transportation $10,340 $11,967 $15,074 $17,345 $11,967 $15,074 $17,345 $19,241 $11,967 $15,074 $17,345 $19,241
Civic $2,589 $4,557 $5,031 $6,450 $4,557 $5,031 $6,450 $7,156 $4,557 $5,031 $6,450 $7,156
Internet & Mobile $1,590 $1,590 $1,590 $1,590 $2,171 $2,171 $2,171 $2,171 $2,171 $2,171 $2,171 $2,171
Other $3,770 $7,242 $7,587 $9,120 $7,242 $8,033 $9,120 $10,117 $7,242 $8,033 $9,120 $10,117
Required annual income after taxes $35,604 $59,460 $72,939 $90,853 $50,129 $61,733 $69,254 $80,007 $50,129 $68,439 $82,665 $98,864
Annual taxes $7,002 $9,309 $9,920 $13,888 $8,623 $9,514 $9,363 $10,037 $8,623 $10,467 $11,269 $13,334
Required annual income before taxes $42,607 $68,769 $82,859 $104,741 $58,752 $71,247 $78,617 $90,044 $58,752 $78,906 $93,935 $112,198

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 $102,260
Business & Financial Operations $71,220
Computer & Mathematical $78,580
Architecture & Engineering $82,800
Life, Physical, & Social Science $68,210
Community & Social Service $50,670
Legal $81,790
Education, Training, & Library $51,580
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $47,010
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $89,770
Healthcare Support $36,340
Protective Service $37,440
Food Preparation & Serving Related $28,740
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $31,700
Personal Care & Service $29,290
Sales & Related $40,400
Office & Administrative Support $42,480
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $41,400
Construction & Extraction $53,000
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $56,790
Production $52,030
Transportation & Material Moving $42,320