Living Wage Calculation for Kalamazoo-Portage, 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 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 $19.17 $35.55 $45.64 $59.96 $27.64 $32.71 $37.43 $39.63 $13.82 $20.05 $25.43 $29.50
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 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33 $10.33

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 $4,078 $6,012 $9,017 $11,985 $7,477 $9,307 $11,986 $14,614 $7,477 $9,307 $11,986 $14,614
Child Care $0 $12,551 $23,533 $33,469 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $12,551 $23,533 $33,469
Medical $3,236 $8,018 $7,878 $8,457 $6,338 $7,878 $8,457 $7,951 $6,338 $7,878 $8,457 $7,951
Housing $8,733 $12,750 $12,750 $17,044 $10,591 $12,750 $12,750 $17,044 $10,591 $12,750 $12,750 $17,044
Transportation $9,796 $11,337 $14,280 $16,431 $11,337 $14,280 $16,431 $16,412 $11,337 $14,280 $16,431 $16,412
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 $1,495 $1,495 $1,495 $1,495 $2,065 $2,065 $2,065 $2,065 $2,065 $2,065 $2,065 $2,065
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 $34,314 $64,540 $83,107 $107,011 $50,185 $60,434 $69,819 $75,317 $50,185 $72,985 $93,352 $108,786
Annual taxes $5,557 $9,413 $11,825 $17,698 $7,301 $7,608 $8,032 $7,116 $7,301 $10,419 $12,456 $13,915
Required annual income before taxes $39,871 $73,953 $94,932 $124,709 $57,486 $68,042 $77,851 $82,433 $57,486 $83,404 $105,808 $122,702

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 $112,670
Business & Financial Operations $75,410
Computer & Mathematical $80,530
Architecture & Engineering $79,570
Life, Physical, & Social Science $76,930
Community & Social Service $50,150
Legal $88,290
Education, Training, & Library $58,750
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $53,380
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $89,160
Healthcare Support $34,130
Protective Service $48,730
Food Preparation & Serving Related $30,580
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $34,030
Personal Care & Service $33,730
Sales & Related $46,870
Office & Administrative Support $42,740
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $38,560
Construction & Extraction $57,020
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $52,000
Production $43,430
Transportation & Material Moving $40,200