Living Wage Calculation for Bismarck, ND

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 $20.27 $35.63 $45.27 $58.38 $29.10 $34.40 $38.23 $44.13 $14.55 $20.38 $25.23 $30.70
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 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25

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 $4,212 $6,193 $9,277 $12,343 $7,721 $9,597 $12,345 $15,060 $7,721 $9,597 $12,345 $15,060
Child Care $0 $11,489 $22,153 $30,387 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $11,489 $22,153 $30,387
Medical $2,830 $8,628 $8,709 $8,793 $6,668 $9,696 $9,998 $10,332 $6,668 $9,696 $9,998 $10,332
Housing $9,978 $12,327 $12,327 $17,268 $11,050 $12,327 $12,327 $17,268 $11,050 $12,327 $12,327 $17,268
Transportation $10,868 $12,578 $15,844 $18,230 $12,578 $15,844 $18,230 $20,224 $12,578 $15,844 $18,230 $20,224
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 $1,507 $1,507 $1,507 $1,507 $2,088 $2,088 $2,088 $2,088 $2,088 $2,088 $2,088 $2,088
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 $36,634 $66,126 $84,169 $106,269 $53,509 $64,392 $72,729 $84,652 $53,509 $75,881 $94,882 $115,039
Annual taxes $5,522 $7,993 $9,985 $15,167 $7,022 $7,166 $6,791 $7,146 $7,022 $8,883 $10,057 $12,675
Required annual income before taxes $42,156 $74,120 $94,154 $121,436 $60,532 $71,558 $79,520 $91,798 $60,532 $84,764 $104,938 $127,714

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 $111,520
Business & Financial Operations $76,620
Computer & Mathematical $87,290
Architecture & Engineering $84,120
Life, Physical, & Social Science $73,350
Community & Social Service $59,700
Legal $90,950
Education, Training, & Library $56,530
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $53,440
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $85,400
Healthcare Support $40,690
Protective Service $54,820
Food Preparation & Serving Related $33,100
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $38,080
Personal Care & Service $34,180
Sales & Related $46,730
Office & Administrative Support $48,270
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $47,520
Construction & Extraction $59,390
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $59,590
Production $57,260
Transportation & Material Moving $48,510