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.
More To Read
November 27, 2023
We’re hiring: EOI is seeking our next Executive Director!
Apply by January 5th, 2024
November 21, 2023
Why I’m grateful for Washington’s expanded Paid Family & Medical Leave
This one is personal.
November 9, 2023
Jeff Bezos is Leaving Seattle – So What?
What can we really learn about taxes, wealth, and policy from the behavior of one person?