For its 2018 analysis, Zippia used Cambridge-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s living wage calculator to determine the income a person will need annually to live in each state and Washington, D.C., to support two adults and one child. To identify living wages, the calculator takes into account annual expenses related to minimum food, child care, health insurance, housing, transportation and other basic needs, and factors in the approximate effects of income and payroll taxes to see how much is necessary to cover basic needs and remain self-sufficient.
Here are the 10 highest annual living wages based on the analysis:
1. Washington, D.C. — $66,267
2. California — $66,019
3. New York — $65,820
4. Massachusetts — $64,929
5. Maryland — $64,765
6. Connecticut — $63,855
7. New Jersey — $63,400
8. Virginia — $61,817
9. Alaska — $60,815
10. Hawaii — $60,784
Here are the 10 lowest annual living wages:
1. Mississippi — $47,881
2. Arkansas — $48,780
3. South Dakota — $48,817
4. Tennessee — $49,027
5. West Virginia — $49,502
6. Alabama — $49,826
7. Ohio — $50,668
8. South Carolina — $50,732
9. Kentucky — $50,759
10. Indiana — $50,774
More information about MIT’s living wage calculator is available here.
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