Living Wage Calculation for Roanoke, VA

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 $20.01 $34.91 $42.88 $54.94 $28.02 $34.35 $37.86 $43.88 $13.94 $19.76 $23.94 $28.98
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 $12.41 $12.41 $12.41 $12.41 $12.41 $12.41 $12.41 $12.41 $12.41 $12.41 $12.41 $12.41

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 $4,081 $6,001 $8,990 $11,960 $7,482 $9,300 $11,963 $14,593 $7,482 $9,300 $11,963 $14,593
Child Care $0 $9,393 $18,021 $24,708 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $9,393 $18,021 $24,708
Medical $3,511 $10,085 $10,158 $10,234 $6,903 $11,046 $11,318 $11,619 $6,903 $11,046 $11,318 $11,619
Housing $10,324 $13,179 $13,179 $18,448 $11,069 $13,179 $13,179 $18,448 $11,069 $13,179 $13,179 $18,448
Transportation $9,233 $10,685 $13,460 $15,487 $10,685 $13,460 $15,487 $17,181 $10,685 $13,460 $15,487 $17,181
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 $1,488 $1,488 $1,488 $1,488 $2,070 $2,070 $2,070 $2,070 $2,070 $2,070 $2,070 $2,070
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 $34,997 $62,630 $77,913 $97,896 $50,008 $62,119 $69,588 $81,185 $50,008 $71,512 $87,609 $105,892
Annual taxes $6,621 $9,985 $11,276 $16,375 $8,281 $9,333 $9,165 $10,083 $7,991 $10,691 $11,974 $14,679
Required annual income before taxes $41,618 $72,616 $89,190 $114,271 $58,290 $71,452 $78,753 $91,268 $57,999 $82,203 $99,583 $120,571

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 $120,550
Business & Financial Operations $72,890
Computer & Mathematical $89,700
Architecture & Engineering $81,200
Life, Physical, & Social Science $79,400
Community & Social Service $51,080
Legal $106,140
Education, Training, & Library $53,970
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $50,630
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $86,370
Healthcare Support $35,220
Protective Service $47,740
Food Preparation & Serving Related $31,670
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $33,220
Personal Care & Service $34,150
Sales & Related $45,820
Office & Administrative Support $42,450
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $43,410
Construction & Extraction $48,210
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $53,760
Production $43,760
Transportation & Material Moving $43,320