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Friday, December 7, 2018

Which US State Has the Most Livable Minimum Wage? The Answers May Surprise You.

People in the US have often lamented how the cost of living has outstripped the federal minimum wage, which has remained stuck at $7.25 per hour since July 24, 2009.




Wages have severely  lagged labor productivity by a wide margin. Had wages kept up with productivity growth, wages would be closer to $33 an hour than the current $7.25 per hour. Much of the gains in productivity have gone to capital rather than labor, resulting in increasing income inequality.



MIT has a neat Living Wage Calculator to help people estimate the cost of living in a person's community or region. Based on their calculations, the weighted average (given the Civilian Non-Institutional Population in each state) living wage for the entire US is $12.08 per hour. This is almost 40% higher than the weighted average minimum wage of $8.71 per hour for the entire USA and more than twice the national poverty wage of just $5.71 per hour.


MIT 2017 Living Wage
By State
In US$ per Hour




State MIT Living Wage Federal Poverty Wage Federal Minimum Wage
Alabama $11.14 $5.80 $7.25
Alaska $12.48 $7.24 $9.84
Arizona $11.22 $5.80 $10.50
Arkansas $10.38 $5.80 $8.50
California $14.01 $5.00 $11.00
Colorado $12.47 $5.80 $10.20
Connecticut $12.88 $5.80 $10.10
Delaware $12.44 $5.80 $8.25
District of Columbia $17.11 $5.80 $12.50
Florida $11.75 $5.80 $8.25
Georgia $11.93 $5.80 $7.25
Hawaii $15.39 $6.66 $10.10
Idaho $10.64 $5.80 $7.25
Illinois $12.50 $5.80 $8.25
Indiana $10.70 $5.80 $7.25
Iowa $10.53 $5.80 $7.25
Kansas $10.69 $5.80 $7.25
Kentucky $10.49 $5.80 $7.25
Louisiana $10.91 $5.80 $7.25
Maine $11.60 $5.80 $10.00
Maryland $14.62 $5.80 $9.25
Massachusetts $13.39 $5.80 $11.00
Michigan $10.87 $5.80 $9.25
Minnesota $11.53 $5.80 $9.65
Mississipi $10.86 $5.80 $7.25
Missouri $10.76 $5.80 $7.85
Montana $10.95 $5.80 $8.30
Nebraska $10.60 $5.80 $9.00
Nevada $10.94 $5.80 $8.25
New Hampshire $12.01 $5.80 $7.25
New Jersey $13.72 $5.80 $8.60
New Mexico $10.98 $5.80 $7.50
New York $14.42 $5.80 $10.40
North Carolina $11.36 $5.80 $7.25
North Dakota $10.89 $5.80 $7.25
Ohio $10.47 $5.80 $8.30
Oklahoma $10.52 $5.80 $7.25
Oregon $12.48 $5.80 $10.25
Pennsylvania $11.11 $5.80 $7.25
Rhode Island $12.10 $5.80 $10.10
South Carolina $11.17 $5.80 $7.25
South Dakota $10.03 $5.80 $8.85
Tennessee $10.44 $5.80 $7.25
Texas $11.03 $5.80 $7.25
Utah $11.22 $5.80 $7.25
Vermont $12.32 $5.80 $10.50
Virginia $13.86 $5.80 $7.25
Washington $12.28 $5.80 $11.50
West Virginia $10.68 $5.80 $8.75
Wisconsin $11.03 $5.80 $7.25
Wyoming $10.63 $5.80 $7.25
National USA $12.08 $5.71 $8.71


Based on these figures, the gap between the minimum wage and living wage for each state is the highest in Virginia, where the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is just 52% of a statewide living wage of $13.86 per hour. The state of Washington has the most livable minimum wage. Its statewide minimum wage of $11.50 per hour is more than 90% of its computed living wage of $12.28 per hour.

State Minimum Wage/Living Wage
Washington 93.65%
Arizona 93.58%
South Dakota 88.24%
Maine 86.21%
Vermont 85.23%
Michigan 85.10%
Nebraska 84.91%
Minnesota 83.69%
Rhode Island 83.47%
Massachusetts 82.15%
Oregon 82.13%
West Virginia 81.93%
Arkansas 81.89%
Colorado 81.80%
Ohio 79.27%
Alaska 78.85%
California 78.52%
Connecticut 78.42%
Montana 75.80%
Nevada 75.41%
District of Columbia 73.06%
Missouri 72.96%
New York 72.12%
Florida 70.21%
Tennessee 69.44%
Kentucky 69.11%
Oklahoma 68.92%
Iowa 68.85%
New Mexico 68.31%
Wyoming 68.20%
Idaho 68.14%
Kansas 67.82%
Indiana 67.76%
Mississipi 66.76%
North Dakota 66.57%
Louisiana 66.45%
Delaware 66.32%
Illinois 66.00%
Texas 65.73%
Wisconsin 65.73%
Hawaii 65.63%
Pennsylvania 65.26%
Alabama 65.08%
South Carolina 64.91%
Utah 64.62%
North Carolina 63.82%
Maryland 63.27%
New Jersey 62.68%
Georgia 60.77%
New Hampshire 60.37%
Virginia 52.31%

Source: MIT Living Wage Calculator

What Is the National Living Wage?

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