Living Wage Calculation for St. Louis, MO

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 $15.98 $34.39 $44.49 $58.30 $25.67 $32.74 $37.73 $41.69 $12.59 $19.13 $24.44 $29.22
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 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00

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 $4,010 $5,919 $8,894 $11,789 $7,352 $9,159 $11,812 $14,374 $7,352 $9,159 $11,812 $14,374
Child Care $0 $9,349 $18,697 $28,045 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $9,349 $18,697 $28,045
Medical $3,225 $9,700 $9,710 $9,635 $6,531 $9,710 $9,635 $9,788 $6,531 $9,710 $9,635 $9,788
Housing $8,230 $11,308 $11,308 $14,694 $8,893 $11,308 $11,308 $14,694 $8,230 $11,308 $11,308 $14,694
Transportation $5,356 $9,634 $11,780 $14,164 $9,634 $11,780 $14,164 $15,187 $9,634 $11,780 $14,164 $15,187
Civic $2,959 $5,878 $6,565 $8,951 $5,878 $6,565 $8,951 $7,118 $5,878 $6,565 $8,951 $7,118
Other $4,811 $8,394 $9,905 $10,871 $8,394 $9,905 $10,871 $12,160 $8,394 $9,905 $10,871 $12,160
Required annual income after taxes $28,723 $60,313 $76,989 $98,281 $46,813 $58,558 $66,874 $73,453 $46,151 $67,907 $85,570 $101,497
Annual taxes $4,521 $11,213 $15,546 $22,975 $6,588 $9,534 $11,613 $13,259 $6,236 $11,674 $16,085 $20,064
Required annual income before taxes $33,244 $71,526 $92,535 $121,256 $53,401 $68,092 $78,486 $86,711 $52,387 $79,580 $101,656 $121,561

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $109,217
Business & Financial Operations $81,301
Computer & Mathematical $88,523
Architecture & Engineering $87,266
Life, Physical, & Social Science $67,012
Community & Social Service $50,375
Legal $85,270
Education, Training, & Library $53,021
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $52,073
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $68,181
Healthcare Support $31,312
Protective Service $51,962
Food Preparation & Serving Related $28,842
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $32,856
Personal Care & Service $30,121
Sales & Related $32,900
Office & Administrative Support $41,566
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $35,943
Construction & Extraction $67,034
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $53,275
Production $43,286
Transportation & Material Moving $40,540