Living Wage Calculation for Rhode Island

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 $24.24 $42.87 $54.96 $69.12 $32.50 $39.25 $44.21 $46.83 $16.25 $23.75 $29.96 $34.02
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 $14.00 $14.00 $14.00 $14.00 $14.00 $14.00 $14.00 $14.00 $14.00 $14.00 $14.00 $14.00

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 $4,740 $6,987 $10,480 $13,929 $8,689 $10,816 $13,930 $16,985 $8,689 $10,816 $13,930 $16,985
Child Care $0 $14,498 $27,509 $35,873 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $14,498 $27,509 $35,873
Medical $3,606 $9,126 $8,978 $9,591 $6,492 $8,978 $9,591 $9,055 $6,492 $8,978 $9,591 $9,055
Housing $15,917 $20,867 $20,867 $25,483 $17,114 $20,867 $20,867 $25,483 $17,114 $20,867 $20,867 $25,483
Transportation $9,638 $11,154 $14,050 $16,166 $11,154 $14,050 $16,166 $16,147 $11,154 $14,050 $16,166 $16,147
Civic $3,013 $5,303 $6,675 $7,730 $5,303 $6,675 $7,730 $7,226 $5,303 $6,675 $7,730 $7,226
Internet & Mobile $1,473 $1,473 $1,473 $1,473 $2,038 $2,038 $2,038 $2,038 $2,038 $2,038 $2,038 $2,038
Other $4,417 $7,884 $8,383 $11,588 $7,884 $8,383 $11,588 $11,139 $7,884 $8,383 $11,588 $11,139
Required annual income after taxes $42,804 $77,292 $98,414 $121,832 $58,675 $71,807 $81,910 $88,072 $58,675 $86,305 $109,419 $123,945
Annual taxes $7,614 $11,881 $15,904 $21,942 $8,927 $9,840 $10,045 $9,328 $8,927 $12,483 $15,231 $17,588
Required annual income before taxes $50,418 $89,172 $114,318 $143,774 $67,601 $81,647 $91,955 $97,399 $67,601 $98,788 $124,649 $141,533

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 $142,210
Business & Financial Operations $88,530
Computer & Mathematical $110,400
Architecture & Engineering $103,490
Life, Physical, & Social Science $90,090
Community & Social Service $57,780
Legal $125,080
Education, Training, & Library $71,310
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $77,480
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $100,720
Healthcare Support $39,440
Protective Service $58,070
Food Preparation & Serving Related $34,700
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $40,200
Personal Care & Service $36,930
Sales & Related $55,530
Office & Administrative Support $48,160
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $37,930
Construction & Extraction $62,520
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $59,110
Production $48,040
Transportation & Material Moving $43,070