Can you make a living off of $15 an hour in Columbia? Here’s what we found
If you feel that your wage is barely keeping you on your feet, you’re not alone.
The average hourly wage in Columbia is $31, which is around $64,000 a year. This wage can allow a full-time worker to support their family or add a little more luxury to their life, in most scenarios.
While the average Columbia employee might feel comfortable with their earnings, about 20% earn less than, or around, $15 an hour, according to ZipRecruiter, an online job marketplace.
A $15 an hour salary might have sufficed when you were a teenager with a part-time job, but when it comes to supporting yourself and your family, it doesn’t go a long way.
So, if you have to work a job that only pays that much, can you make a living wage?
What is a living wage?
A living wage is what a full-time worker must make in an hour to cover the cost of their basic needs, such as health care, housing, internet & mobile, transportation, civic engagement, childcare and other necessities, without government assistance or any outside help.
It’s just the bare minimum. A living wage does not account for budgeting for eating out, vacations, leisure time, savings, retirement and other investments.
Can you live off of $15 an hour in Columbia?
The short answer is no.
The majority of people in Columbia can’t make a decent living only off of $15 an hour, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, which estimates the cost of living for all 50 states and over 300 metros. The data is updated regularly.
A person working full-time with no children can expect to need at least $21 an hour to earn a living wage. It jumps to $36 an hour if you’re a single parent with one kid and $46 an hour if you have two kids.
For a family of two with only one adult working, it takes $29 an hour to make a living wage. With one child, you would need $34 an hour, and with two kids, you would need $37 an hour.
The only scenario where an adult can make a living wage with $15 an hour is if you’re in a family of two, and you are both working with zero kids. Bringing a child to the equation means you’d need to make $21 an hour. Having another child means you’d need to make $25 an hour.
What about the rest of SC?
Outside of Columbia, the average hourly wage is lower, and there are about 10% more earners making close to $15 an hour.
But the living wage increases, even if it’s just by a little bit.
The MIT Living Wage Calculator shows that an adult with zero children must make at least $22 an hour to earn a living wage. Being a single parent with one kid means you’d have to make $37 an hour to support yourself and the child. Having two kids means you’d need $46 an hour.
For two adults who are both working and have no children, $15 an hour barely offers a living wage. Having one kid jumps the living wage to $21 an hour, and two kids means you’d need $26 an hour.