Living Wage Calculation for Rocky Mount, 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 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 $19.22 $32.71 $40.21 $51.57 $26.60 $32.09 $36.31 $38.69 $13.30 $18.42 $22.66 $25.62
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 $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 $3,856 $5,684 $8,526 $11,333 $7,070 $8,800 $11,334 $13,819 $7,070 $8,800 $11,334 $13,819
Child Care $0 $8,380 $15,947 $21,785 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $8,380 $15,947 $21,785
Medical $3,145 $9,789 $9,675 $10,147 $7,346 $9,675 $10,147 $9,734 $7,346 $9,675 $10,147 $9,734
Housing $9,951 $12,484 $12,484 $16,827 $10,012 $12,484 $12,484 $16,827 $10,012 $12,484 $12,484 $16,827
Transportation $9,614 $11,126 $14,015 $16,126 $11,126 $14,015 $16,126 $16,107 $11,126 $14,015 $16,126 $16,107
Civic $2,165 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $5,191 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $5,191
Internet & Mobile $1,375 $1,375 $1,375 $1,375 $1,954 $1,954 $1,954 $1,954 $1,954 $1,954 $1,954 $1,954
Other $3,903 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $9,841 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $9,841
Required annual income after taxes $34,008 $59,614 $74,224 $93,383 $48,283 $59,131 $67,836 $73,473 $48,283 $67,510 $83,783 $95,258
Annual taxes $5,977 $8,422 $9,412 $13,879 $7,051 $7,617 $7,682 $6,994 $7,051 $9,114 $10,495 $11,304
Required annual income before taxes $39,985 $68,036 $83,637 $107,262 $55,334 $66,748 $75,518 $80,467 $55,334 $76,625 $94,278 $106,563

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 $110,850
Business & Financial Operations $69,200
Computer & Mathematical $84,640
Architecture & Engineering $81,640
Life, Physical, & Social Science $0
Community & Social Service $45,610
Legal $73,000
Education, Training, & Library $41,970
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $47,070
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $71,230
Healthcare Support $29,860
Protective Service $43,730
Food Preparation & Serving Related $25,720
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $28,370
Personal Care & Service $28,820
Sales & Related $38,360
Office & Administrative Support $38,580
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $35,600
Construction & Extraction $44,830
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $50,860
Production $41,620
Transportation & Material Moving $36,190