What does it take to make it in Washington state?

anselm, flickr

Via Sightline:

What does it take to live in Washington state? To pay for the bare necessities like rent, childcare, groceries, clothing, shoes, transport to work, telephone service, cleaning products and household items? (That’s without the additional costs of any comforts such as savings, vacations, cable TV, or the occasional restaurant meal.)

A new report and this handy online calculator from the University of Washington School of Social Work researcher Diana Pearce answers that question in great detail. She’s come up with a “self-sufficiency wage” for families of various sizes and compositions living in each of the state’s counties.

The report is full of interesting data that demonstrate how little the federal definition of poverty has to do with surviving in the real world. They also help explain why so many people feel economically squeezed and why year after year it feels harder to make the same ends meet. In the last two years, for instance, the recession has kept median income from growing across Washington state. But the economic downturn hasn’t kept the cost of basic needs from rising. Over that time period, the cost of food and housing and other life expenses across Washington state rose by 8.4 percent, the report found.

Get the full story on Sightline Daily »

  • Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

More To Read

March 24, 2025

Remembering former Washington State House Speaker Frank Chopp

Rep. Chopp was Washington state’s longest-serving Speaker of the House

February 11, 2025

The rising cost of health care is unsustainable and out of control

We have solutions that put people over profits

January 29, 2025

Who is left out of the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act?

Strengthening job protections gives all workers time they need to care for themselves and their families