Living Wage Calculation for Battle Creek, MI

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 $19.82 $33.55 $41.08 $50.34 $28.93 $34.23 $38.03 $42.51 $14.47 $19.35 $23.33 $27.03
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 $12.48 $12.48 $12.48 $12.48 $12.48 $12.48 $12.48 $12.48 $12.48 $12.48 $12.48 $12.48

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 $3,982 $5,856 $8,772 $11,671 $7,301 $9,075 $11,673 $14,240 $7,301 $9,075 $11,673 $14,240
Child Care $0 $7,700 $15,400 $20,240 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $7,700 $15,400 $20,240
Medical $3,393 $8,167 $8,248 $8,332 $7,159 $9,235 $9,537 $9,872 $7,159 $9,235 $9,537 $9,872
Housing $9,363 $13,135 $13,135 $15,822 $10,833 $13,135 $13,135 $15,822 $10,833 $13,135 $13,135 $15,822
Transportation $9,748 $11,281 $14,211 $16,351 $11,281 $14,211 $16,351 $18,139 $11,281 $14,211 $16,351 $18,139
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 $1,576 $1,576 $1,576 $1,576 $2,157 $2,157 $2,157 $2,157 $2,157 $2,157 $2,157 $2,157
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 $35,302 $61,119 $75,694 $91,733 $52,135 $62,652 $70,593 $79,909 $52,135 $70,352 $85,993 $100,150
Annual taxes $5,930 $8,659 $9,749 $12,967 $8,049 $8,548 $8,511 $8,508 $8,049 $10,140 $11,080 $12,275
Required annual income before taxes $41,232 $69,777 $85,442 $104,699 $60,184 $71,200 $79,104 $88,417 $60,184 $80,491 $97,073 $112,425

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 $117,020
Business & Financial Operations $79,020
Computer & Mathematical $87,760
Architecture & Engineering $90,130
Life, Physical, & Social Science $76,500
Community & Social Service $55,700
Legal $90,680
Education, Training, & Library $59,560
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $55,430
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $83,110
Healthcare Support $37,480
Protective Service $52,940
Food Preparation & Serving Related $33,040
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $34,770
Personal Care & Service $41,310
Sales & Related $44,680
Office & Administrative Support $44,520
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $49,240
Construction & Extraction $57,220
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $59,780
Production $47,150
Transportation & Material Moving $43,130