Living Wage Calculation for Rochester, MN

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 $21.88 $43.15 $56.74 $71.94 $31.68 $37.82 $41.84 $48.78 $15.84 $24.04 $30.66 $37.43
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 $11.13 $11.13 $11.13 $11.13 $11.13 $11.13 $11.13 $11.13 $11.13 $11.13 $11.13 $11.13

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 $4,497 $6,613 $9,906 $13,180 $8,245 $10,248 $13,182 $16,081 $8,245 $10,248 $13,182 $16,081
Child Care $0 $17,214 $32,608 $42,003 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $17,214 $32,608 $42,003
Medical $3,860 $10,088 $10,169 $10,253 $8,375 $11,156 $11,458 $11,792 $8,375 $11,156 $11,458 $11,792
Housing $11,403 $15,242 $15,242 $21,255 $12,540 $15,242 $15,242 $21,255 $12,540 $15,242 $15,242 $21,255
Transportation $10,516 $12,169 $15,329 $17,639 $12,169 $15,329 $17,639 $19,567 $12,169 $15,329 $17,639 $19,567
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 $1,454 $1,454 $1,454 $1,454 $2,036 $2,036 $2,036 $2,036 $2,036 $2,036 $2,036 $2,036
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 $38,969 $76,185 $99,061 $123,524 $56,768 $68,851 $77,296 $90,410 $56,768 $86,064 $109,904 $132,414
Annual taxes $6,548 $13,564 $18,950 $26,112 $9,117 $9,812 $9,736 $11,042 $9,117 $13,938 $17,655 $23,291
Required annual income before taxes $45,518 $89,749 $118,012 $149,636 $65,885 $78,663 $87,033 $101,452 $65,885 $100,002 $127,559 $155,704

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 $130,840
Business & Financial Operations $86,200
Computer & Mathematical $108,750
Architecture & Engineering $86,510
Life, Physical, & Social Science $86,670
Community & Social Service $65,670
Legal $105,440
Education, Training, & Library $56,580
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $62,530
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $124,190
Healthcare Support $41,890
Protective Service $61,990
Food Preparation & Serving Related $32,540
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $40,100
Personal Care & Service $38,910
Sales & Related $45,260
Office & Administrative Support $50,920
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $43,360
Construction & Extraction $70,690
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $59,690
Production $50,820
Transportation & Material Moving $45,730