Income vs. Living Wage in Seattle & Washington State

 

While researching, I found two great sources of data. 

1. The US Census Bureau has income in the past 12 months, broken down by household types & income levels (for Washington State).
2. The Living Wage calculator by MIT's Dr. Amy K. Glasmeier, which allows you to see what the living wage is by location, and household type (for Washington State).

I wanted to look at how many households in Washington state were below the living wage. Here's the breakdown.

Based on the Living Wage Calculator + Washington State:

• 1 Adult + 0 Children (Living Wage)
• $16.34/hr or $33,987/annual = Living Wage
• $6.13/hr or $12,750/annual = Poverty Wage

Living Wage + Washington State + Single

Typical Expenses

	Annual	Monthly
Food	$3,791.00	$315.92
Medical	$2,206.00	$183.83
Housing	$13,739.00	$1,144.92
Transportation	$4,900.00	$408.33
Civic	$1,811.00	$150.92
Other	$2,794.00	$232.83
Min After-Tax Income	$29,242.00	$2,436.83
Min Before-Tax Income	$33,982.00	$2,831.83

Based on the US Census + Washington State:

• Single (Nonfamily Households)
• Less than $10,000 = 91,314 (poverty wage)
• $10k to $14,999 = 61,925 (below living wage)
• $15k to $24,999 = 120,702 (below living wage)
• $25k to $34,999 = 106,008 (below living wage + living wage)
• $35k to $49,999 = 144,842 (living wage)
• $50k to $74,999 = 195,222 (living wage)
• $75k to $99,999 = 110,206 (living wage)
• $100k to $149,999 = 124,900 (living wage)
• $150k to $199,999 = 45,132 (living wage)
• $200k or more = 49,330 (living wage)
• 273,941 or 26.10% of singles earn $24,999 annually or less.
• 273,941 or 26.10% of singles are below the living wage.
• 106,008 or 10.10% of singles are either below or just above the living wage.
• 669,633 or 63.80% of singles are above the living wage.

What would this look like for Seattle, Washington?

• 1 Adult + 0 Children (Living Wage)
• $18.56/hr or $38,605/annual = Living Wage
• $6.13/hr or $12,750/year = Poverty Wage

Living Wage + Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue + Single

Typical Expenses

	Annual	Monthly
Food	$3,792.00	$316.00
Medical	$2,206.00	$183.83
Housing	$17,713.00	$1,476.08
Transportation	$4,900.00	$408.33
Civic	$1,811.00	$150.92
Other	$2,794.00	$232.83
Min After-Tax Income	$33,217.00	$2,768.08
Min Before-Tax Income	$38,601.00	$3,216.75

Are these numbers realistic? Could you live in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue with these numbers?

Let's look at housing, food, transportation, and other.

• $1,476.08 = Housing
• Apartments.com has the following results
• 1,223 apartments in Seattle with a max rent of $1,476.00
• 522 apartments in Tacoma with a max rent of $1,476.00
• 16 apartments in Bellevue with a max rent of $1,476.00
• $316.00 = Food 
• based on numbeo.com for Seattle
• $18.00 = Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 
• * 5 days a week = $90 * 4 weeks = $360.00
• $10.23 = McMeal at McDonald's (or Equivalent Combo Meal)
• * 5 days a week = $51.15 * 4 weeks = $204.60
• Monthly food expenses by Western food type & Asian food type
• $416.46 per month (western food types)
• $325.00 per month (asian food types)
• $408.33 = Transportation
• (32 miles daily to work * 5 = 160 miles) / 25 miles per gallon = 6.4 gallons per week
• 6.4 gallons * $4.09 per gallon = $26.18 per month in gas
• $75 per month for car insurance (monthly average for WA state)
• $539 to $336 per month for a car payment (monthly average for WA state)
• $26.18 gas + $75.00 insurance + $336.00 car payments = $437.18 (over by $28.85)
• $232.83 = Other
• Personal hygiene 
• Cellphone service
• Internet service
• Going out
• Clothing
• Unexpected costs (car repair, gifts, pet emergencies, seasonal costs)
• Other memberships

I would say the breakdown of the Living Wage is the bare minimum for an individual to live. It would not afford them any "luxuries" like going out for lunch, buying clothes, internet service, getting a mother's day gift, a gym membership, or going out with friends. It's extremely tight.

• Housing would be doable based on a quick apartments.com search. It would allow you to rent an apartment (not including the initial costs of application fee, deposit, and possible first/last month's rent). I also didn't go into the detail of each listing to see what's included vs. not included (utilities, parking, other amenities).
• Food is very tight. At $316 per month, a single person would have to eat all meals prepared at home. In addition to that, they would have to shop around to get the best prices. This would eat away into their time (breakfast, lunch, dinner = shopping, cooking, cleaning, packing lunch).
• Transportation is also very tight. Based on an average of 32 miles commute each day to work, with a car with average gas mileage of 25 miles per gallon, and the current lowest gas price in Seattle, that comes to $26.18 per month on gas alone. When you add car insurance of $75 and average monthly car payments, that exceeds the allotted $408.33 in the transportation budget. The other option would be to use public transportation to cut costs, but that would add additional time to the individual's work schedule. Now we're talking about 40 hrs of work per week + time spent to shop, cook, clean all meals, and taking public transportation to and from work + grocery stores.
• The other category budgets $232.83 per month. The living wage calculator website did not go into details of what makes up this other category. I added some I thought could fall into it. Clothing, personal hygiene, household goods, cellphone service, internet service, going out, etc... I think it would be extremely difficult to stay within the $232.83 other budget. It's almost a necessity now to own a smartphone with a data service. 

Is this budget doable? I think it would be doable, but it would be extremely difficult and would take extra time for this individual, making their week very long, leaving them with no time for pursuing any other activities, may that be hobbies or to further their economic situation.