Living Wage Calculation for Ray County, 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 2025 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 10, 2025.

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 $21.16 $35.97 $44.89 $54.70 $30.42 $35.64 $39.73 $44.97 $15.16 $20.59 $25.20 $29.10
Poverty Wage $7.52 $10.17 $12.81 $15.46 $10.17 $12.81 $15.46 $18.10 $5.08 $6.41 $7.73 $9.05
Minimum Wage $13.75 $13.75 $13.75 $13.75 $13.75 $13.75 $13.75 $13.75 $13.75 $13.75 $13.75 $13.75

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 $3,800 $5,588 $8,370 $11,136 $6,966 $8,659 $11,138 $13,587 $6,966 $8,659 $11,138 $13,587
Child Care $0 $9,838 $18,790 $23,028 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $9,838 $18,790 $23,028
Medical $3,569 $9,304 $9,385 $9,469 $8,284 $10,372 $10,674 $11,009 $8,284 $10,372 $10,674 $11,009
Housing $8,654 $10,846 $10,846 $14,149 $9,532 $10,846 $10,846 $14,149 $9,532 $10,846 $10,846 $14,149
Transportation $12,368 $14,314 $18,030 $20,746 $14,314 $18,030 $20,746 $23,015 $14,314 $18,030 $20,746 $23,015
Civic $3,126 $5,504 $6,077 $7,791 $5,504 $6,077 $7,791 $8,643 $5,504 $6,077 $7,791 $8,643
Internet & Mobile $1,658 $1,658 $1,658 $1,658 $2,239 $2,239 $2,239 $2,239 $2,239 $2,239 $2,239 $2,239
Other $4,112 $7,900 $8,276 $9,949 $7,900 $8,763 $9,949 $11,037 $7,900 $8,763 $9,949 $11,037
Required annual income after taxes $37,288 $64,951 $81,432 $97,927 $54,739 $64,986 $73,383 $83,679 $54,739 $74,824 $92,173 $106,706
Annual taxes $6,715 $9,868 $11,937 $15,841 $8,531 $9,141 $9,256 $9,862 $8,317 $10,848 $12,656 $14,357
Required annual income before taxes $44,003 $74,819 $93,369 $113,767 $63,270 $74,126 $82,640 $93,541 $63,056 $85,672 $104,829 $121,064

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 $109,450
Business & Financial Operations $81,060
Computer & Mathematical $88,750
Architecture & Engineering $89,320
Life, Physical, & Social Science $76,830
Community & Social Service $49,590
Legal $114,240
Education, Training, & Library $58,570
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $66,070
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $87,320
Healthcare Support $34,410
Protective Service $51,960
Food Preparation & Serving Related $33,120
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $35,320
Personal Care & Service $34,530
Sales & Related $47,010
Office & Administrative Support $44,860
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $39,060
Construction & Extraction $62,340
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $55,850
Production $46,480
Transportation & Material Moving $43,890