Living Wage Calculation for Watertown-Fort Drum, NY

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 $16.33 $34.61 $44.70 $59.45 $26.16 $32.84 $37.71 $42.60 $12.67 $19.26 $24.54 $29.83
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 $14.20 $14.20 $14.20 $14.20 $14.20 $14.20 $14.20 $14.20 $14.20 $14.20 $14.20 $14.20

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 $4,559 $6,729 $10,111 $13,402 $8,359 $10,413 $13,429 $16,341 $8,359 $10,413 $13,429 $16,341
Child Care $0 $9,410 $18,820 $28,231 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $9,410 $18,820 $28,231
Medical $3,207 $8,487 $8,497 $8,422 $6,666 $8,497 $8,422 $8,575 $6,666 $8,497 $8,422 $8,575
Housing $9,432 $14,196 $14,196 $19,044 $10,788 $14,196 $14,196 $19,044 $9,432 $14,196 $14,196 $19,044
Transportation $4,470 $8,040 $9,831 $11,821 $8,040 $9,831 $11,821 $12,675 $8,040 $9,831 $11,821 $12,675
Civic $2,882 $5,725 $6,394 $8,719 $5,725 $6,394 $8,719 $6,933 $5,725 $6,394 $8,719 $6,933
Other $4,339 $7,570 $8,932 $9,804 $7,570 $8,932 $9,804 $10,966 $7,570 $8,932 $9,804 $10,966
Required annual income after taxes $29,021 $60,289 $76,913 $99,574 $47,279 $58,395 $66,522 $74,665 $45,923 $67,805 $85,342 $102,896
Annual taxes $4,941 $11,708 $16,067 $24,077 $7,126 $9,906 $11,924 $13,949 $6,790 $12,314 $16,746 $21,181
Required annual income before taxes $33,962 $71,997 $92,980 $123,652 $54,405 $68,301 $78,446 $88,614 $52,713 $80,119 $102,088 $124,078

Typical Annual Salaries

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

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $102,437
Business & Financial Operations $70,684
Computer & Mathematical $84,024
Architecture & Engineering $86,064
Life, Physical, & Social Science $70,838
Community & Social Service $52,007
Legal $89,096
Education, Training, & Library $53,131
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $51,786
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $68,787
Healthcare Support $32,348
Protective Service $67,607
Food Preparation & Serving Related $31,444
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $32,933
Personal Care & Service $31,632
Sales & Related $32,326
Office & Administrative Support $41,047
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $35,557
Construction & Extraction $52,293
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $52,139
Production $50,551
Transportation & Material Moving $39,923