Living Wage Calculation for New Bern, NC

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 $21.01 $35.78 $43.62 $53.57 $29.15 $35.43 $39.04 $45.06 $14.58 $20.35 $24.41 $28.45
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 $4,245 $6,242 $9,351 $12,440 $7,782 $9,673 $12,443 $15,179 $7,782 $9,673 $12,443 $15,179
Child Care $0 $9,198 $17,140 $20,496 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $9,198 $17,140 $20,496
Medical $3,408 $9,218 $9,291 $9,367 $7,753 $10,180 $10,451 $10,753 $7,753 $10,180 $10,451 $10,753
Housing $11,663 $15,342 $15,342 $20,462 $11,734 $15,342 $15,342 $20,462 $11,734 $15,342 $15,342 $20,462
Transportation $9,769 $11,305 $14,241 $16,386 $11,305 $14,241 $16,386 $18,178 $11,305 $14,241 $16,386 $18,178
Civic $2,589 $4,557 $5,031 $6,450 $4,557 $5,031 $6,450 $7,156 $4,557 $5,031 $6,450 $7,156
Internet & Mobile $1,347 $1,347 $1,347 $1,347 $1,929 $1,929 $1,929 $1,929 $1,929 $1,929 $1,929 $1,929
Other $3,770 $7,242 $7,587 $9,120 $7,242 $8,033 $9,120 $10,117 $7,242 $8,033 $9,120 $10,117
Required annual income after taxes $36,790 $64,451 $79,329 $96,070 $52,303 $64,428 $72,122 $83,773 $52,303 $73,626 $89,261 $104,270
Annual taxes $6,909 $9,979 $11,398 $15,361 $8,330 $9,263 $9,074 $9,943 $8,330 $11,026 $12,298 $14,070
Required annual income before taxes $43,698 $74,431 $90,727 $111,431 $60,632 $73,691 $81,196 $93,716 $60,632 $84,653 $101,560 $118,339

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 $101,420
Business & Financial Operations $78,080
Computer & Mathematical $88,480
Architecture & Engineering $89,270
Life, Physical, & Social Science $68,440
Community & Social Service $49,780
Legal $102,070
Education, Training, & Library $45,360
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $51,050
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $89,120
Healthcare Support $32,880
Protective Service $47,160
Food Preparation & Serving Related $27,370
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $31,080
Personal Care & Service $32,700
Sales & Related $41,430
Office & Administrative Support $39,910
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $44,870
Construction & Extraction $48,600
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $57,760
Production $45,120
Transportation & Material Moving $38,080