Living Wage Calculation for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA

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 $24.12 $43.08 $54.82 $70.56 $33.10 $39.85 $44.74 $47.26 $16.54 $23.86 $29.91 $34.80
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 $4,648 $6,852 $10,277 $13,660 $8,522 $10,607 $13,661 $16,657 $8,522 $10,607 $13,661 $16,657
Child Care $0 $13,865 $26,360 $37,573 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $13,865 $26,360 $37,573
Medical $3,471 $9,876 $9,732 $10,329 $6,881 $9,732 $10,329 $9,806 $6,881 $9,732 $10,329 $9,806
Housing $15,717 $20,952 $20,952 $25,330 $17,502 $20,952 $20,952 $25,330 $17,502 $20,952 $20,952 $25,330
Transportation $9,549 $11,051 $13,920 $16,017 $11,051 $13,920 $16,017 $15,998 $11,051 $13,920 $16,017 $15,998
Civic $2,921 $5,140 $6,470 $7,492 $5,140 $6,470 $7,492 $7,004 $5,140 $6,470 $7,492 $7,004
Internet & Mobile $1,831 $1,831 $1,831 $1,831 $2,398 $2,398 $2,398 $2,398 $2,398 $2,398 $2,398 $2,398
Other $4,361 $7,784 $8,277 $11,440 $7,784 $8,277 $11,440 $10,997 $7,784 $8,277 $11,440 $10,997
Required annual income after taxes $42,497 $77,350 $97,818 $123,672 $59,277 $72,355 $82,289 $88,190 $59,277 $86,220 $108,650 $125,763
Annual taxes $7,676 $12,257 $16,208 $23,099 $9,568 $10,528 $10,777 $10,106 $9,530 $13,026 $15,764 $18,998
Required annual income before taxes $50,173 $89,607 $114,026 $146,771 $68,846 $82,883 $93,067 $98,296 $68,807 $99,246 $124,413 $144,761

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 $143,940
Business & Financial Operations $88,550
Computer & Mathematical $103,570
Architecture & Engineering $97,280
Life, Physical, & Social Science $85,080
Community & Social Service $56,080
Legal $124,640
Education, Training, & Library $67,270
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $65,620
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $97,460
Healthcare Support $34,270
Protective Service $55,190
Food Preparation & Serving Related $32,170
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $37,820
Personal Care & Service $35,280
Sales & Related $50,260
Office & Administrative Support $47,920
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $40,000
Construction & Extraction $66,320
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $58,870
Production $48,940
Transportation & Material Moving $43,410