Living Wage Calculators

A living wage is a local figure that varies from community to community. The calculators listed below can help you determine your local living wage--and illustrate the gap between ESP wages and what it really takes to make ends meet in your community. Do your calculations and then take your results to your school board, your governor, or the bargaining table and show why ESP compensation needs to increase.

EPI's Basic Family Budget Calculator

How much does it cost to live in your community? The Economic Policy Institute’s Basic Family Budget calculator lets you determine the income needed for a family of your size to make ends meet in your community. The calculator also shows the number of families in your state living below the family budget level.

Penn State Living Wage Calculator

The Poverty in America Project at Penn State has developed a calculator to estimate the living wage in your community. Enter your location, and you’ll see living wages for various family sizes in your community, how your local living wage compares to the minimum wage and the federal poverty wage, as well as typical wages for a number of jobs in your community.

Self-sufficiency Wages

The Organizing Project-Six Strategies has "self-sufficiency" studies for 35 states, which include data on wages needed for economic stability.