Living Wage Calculation for Missouri

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 $20.20 $34.25 $43.31 $55.74 $28.05 $33.45 $38.24 $40.47 $13.98 $19.36 $24.31 $27.53
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 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30 $12.30

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 $4,196 $6,185 $9,277 $12,330 $7,692 $9,575 $12,331 $15,035 $7,692 $9,575 $12,331 $15,035
Child Care $0 $9,423 $18,422 $25,313 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $9,423 $18,422 $25,313
Medical $3,208 $8,227 $8,087 $8,666 $6,643 $8,087 $8,666 $8,159 $6,643 $8,087 $8,666 $8,159
Housing $9,843 $12,875 $12,875 $16,903 $10,472 $12,875 $12,875 $16,903 $10,472 $12,875 $12,875 $16,903
Transportation $10,204 $11,809 $14,875 $17,115 $11,809 $14,875 $17,115 $17,096 $11,809 $14,875 $17,115 $17,096
Civic $2,889 $5,083 $6,398 $7,409 $5,083 $6,398 $7,409 $6,926 $5,083 $6,398 $7,409 $6,926
Internet & Mobile $1,464 $1,464 $1,464 $1,464 $2,034 $2,034 $2,034 $2,034 $2,034 $2,034 $2,034 $2,034
Other $4,086 $7,294 $7,756 $10,720 $7,294 $7,756 $10,720 $10,305 $7,294 $7,756 $10,720 $10,305
Required annual income after taxes $35,889 $62,359 $79,152 $99,920 $51,026 $61,598 $71,150 $76,457 $51,026 $71,021 $89,572 $101,770
Annual taxes $6,135 $8,880 $10,933 $16,025 $7,316 $7,979 $8,379 $7,715 $7,110 $9,525 $11,570 $12,774
Required annual income before taxes $42,024 $71,239 $90,085 $115,945 $58,343 $69,578 $79,529 $84,172 $58,136 $80,545 $101,142 $114,544

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 $111,290
Business & Financial Operations $78,130
Computer & Mathematical $88,390
Architecture & Engineering $87,970
Life, Physical, & Social Science $70,590
Community & Social Service $46,880
Legal $107,830
Education, Training, & Library $56,270
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $58,250
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $81,350
Healthcare Support $31,350
Protective Service $48,480
Food Preparation & Serving Related $30,670
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $33,360
Personal Care & Service $32,750
Sales & Related $45,000
Office & Administrative Support $42,710
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $39,120
Construction & Extraction $59,000
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $53,140
Production $44,090
Transportation & Material Moving $42,120