Living Wage Calculation for Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA

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 $15.67 $32.83 $42.54 $55.85 $25.37 $31.75 $36.78 $40.71 $12.28 $18.37 $23.48 $28.05
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 $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 $8,708 $17,417 $26,125 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $8,708 $17,417 $26,125
Medical $3,416 $8,178 $8,188 $8,113 $5,914 $8,188 $8,113 $8,266 $5,914 $8,188 $8,113 $8,266
Housing $7,286 $10,512 $10,512 $13,810 $8,311 $10,512 $10,512 $13,810 $7,286 $10,512 $10,512 $13,810
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 $27,970 $57,355 $73,392 $93,956 $45,614 $56,241 $64,556 $71,047 $44,590 $64,949 $81,973 $97,172
Annual taxes $4,634 $10,929 $15,082 $22,212 $7,160 $9,807 $11,937 $13,633 $6,510 $11,487 $15,723 $19,535
Required annual income before taxes $32,603 $68,284 $88,475 $116,168 $52,774 $66,048 $76,493 $84,680 $51,100 $76,436 $97,696 $116,708

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $100,342
Business & Financial Operations $67,883
Computer & Mathematical $85,645
Architecture & Engineering $105,391
Life, Physical, & Social Science $65,314
Community & Social Service $49,625
Legal $65,755
Education, Training, & Library $54,278
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $41,466
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $66,770
Healthcare Support $32,734
Protective Service $51,367
Food Preparation & Serving Related $26,251
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $40,959
Personal Care & Service $26,924
Sales & Related $32,062
Office & Administrative Support $41,301
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $41,985
Construction & Extraction $51,974
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $52,161
Production $41,676
Transportation & Material Moving $41,356