Since 2009, the federal minimum wage in the United States has been $7.25 an hour. The new bill introduced in the Senate will be raised to $15 an hour next year, hoping for an increase to reflect inflation.
According to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, in some states, including states where the minimum wage is already more than an hour or more than $15, the rate is not sufficient to cover the average cost residents may have.
The calculator takes into account the basic needs that families of different sizes may have to have to determine whether families of different sizes need to earn hourly to become “subsisted” such as food, housing, childcare, and transportation. Estimated living wages are available in all 50 states, counties, and all major metro areas.
Based on MIT calculations, NexStar’s analysis found that $15 per hour per adult is not enough to cover basic needs in any state, working 40 hours a week. The closest is West Virginia, where an hourly wage of $19.43 is enough.
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Also, whether you have a family of four or both adults working, it is not enough to be self-sufficient in any state. Mississippi has the lowest hourly wage at $22.43 per hour for both adults.
Meanwhile, in 15 states and the District of Columbia, the Living Wage calculator discovered that for the same family, both adults need to make $30 for more than an hour to cover the same basic needs. In Massachusetts, the hourly living wage for two adults with two children is $37.71, according to MIT calculators.
Other states with double living wages are twice the proposed federal minimum wage. California, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington. A recent survey found that four families need an annual household income of more than $200,000 to live comfortably in 43 states.
This situation is very good for adults considered “dinks”: double income, no children.
In 18 states, where both are two adults working, the pair covers their needs, both earning less than $15 an hour. According to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, Arkansas has the lowest rate at $13.59 per hour. Nearby is West Virginia for $13.60.
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Other states with estimated living wages for two working adults below $15 per hour include Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
In Texas, $15 pay is almost sufficient, with Dinks at $15.04 per hour to cover basic needs.
These calculations are estimates and the situation for all families is different.
For example, working couples without children in Little Rock, Arkansas have a living wage rate of $13.90 per hour. This is higher than the state average. The same couple in Hot Springs, Arkansas should make at least $13.36 per hour each, or 20 cents or more than the state average.
According to data generated by MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, the state minimum wage is not sufficient to be considered a living wage for a family of four working adults, Dink, or both adults.
However, in the District of Columbia, the current minimum wage is higher than the living wage outlined for families without double income. MIT’s Living Wage Calculator estimates that Dink, the country’s capital, may require hourly wages. DC’s minimum wage is $17.50 per hour, increasing to $17.95 per hour on July 1st.
Some of the nation’s largest metros have a higher minimum wage than their respective states. In Denver, the minimum hourly wage is $18.81, which is $4 more than the state’s $14.81 rate and nearly 50 cents higher than the estimated living wage for Dink, who lives in the city.
You can find the estimated living wage for your area with MIT’s Living Wage Calculator.
Will the federal minimum wage increase this year?
The bill has bipartisan support, with Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) in common legislation.
However, the House and Senate, managed by the GOP, are also focusing on Trump’s priority legislation.
President Donald Trump previously called the current rate of $7.25 an hour in December “low numbers,” but the White House declined to comment on Holy’s proposed law earlier this month.
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