Living Wage Calculation for Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR

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 $27.47 $49.02 $62.82 $77.79 $37.04 $42.91 $47.27 $56.19 $18.52 $27.07 $34.01 $40.64
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 $14.70 $14.70 $14.70 $14.70 $14.70 $14.70 $14.70 $14.70 $14.70 $14.70 $14.70 $14.70

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 $4,749 $6,984 $10,462 $13,918 $8,707 $10,822 $13,921 $16,982 $8,707 $10,822 $13,921 $16,982
Child Care $0 $18,855 $34,294 $39,744 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $18,855 $34,294 $39,744
Medical $2,509 $6,189 $6,262 $6,339 $5,470 $7,156 $7,430 $7,733 $5,470 $7,156 $7,430 $7,733
Housing $19,618 $24,064 $24,064 $33,006 $21,088 $24,064 $24,064 $33,006 $21,088 $24,064 $24,064 $33,006
Transportation $9,640 $11,156 $14,052 $16,169 $11,156 $14,052 $16,169 $17,937 $11,156 $14,052 $16,169 $17,937
Civic $3,587 $6,314 $6,971 $8,938 $6,314 $6,971 $8,938 $9,915 $6,314 $6,971 $8,938 $9,915
Internet & Mobile $2,159 $2,159 $2,159 $2,159 $2,765 $2,765 $2,765 $2,765 $2,765 $2,765 $2,765 $2,765
Other $4,749 $9,123 $9,558 $11,490 $9,123 $10,121 $11,490 $12,746 $9,123 $10,121 $11,490 $12,746
Required annual income after taxes $47,010 $84,844 $107,822 $131,762 $64,622 $75,951 $84,777 $101,083 $64,622 $94,806 $119,070 $140,828
Annual taxes $10,127 $17,112 $22,836 $30,032 $12,419 $13,299 $13,550 $15,795 $12,419 $17,823 $22,401 $28,219
Required annual income before taxes $57,137 $101,957 $130,658 $161,794 $77,041 $89,250 $98,327 $116,878 $77,041 $112,630 $141,472 $169,047

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 $137,680
Business & Financial Operations $88,160
Computer & Mathematical $114,550
Architecture & Engineering $108,520
Life, Physical, & Social Science $85,030
Community & Social Service $63,530
Legal $123,070
Education, Training, & Library $78,210
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $78,520
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $128,480
Healthcare Support $47,450
Protective Service $63,200
Food Preparation & Serving Related $38,160
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $42,750
Personal Care & Service $43,260
Sales & Related $56,070
Office & Administrative Support $51,300
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $43,980
Construction & Extraction $74,770
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $64,960
Production $51,750
Transportation & Material Moving $49,110