What does this measure?

The level of income needed for households of different sizes and types in a region to be able to pay for necessities, including housing and food, without outside assistance.

Why is this important?

The level of income needed to afford basic expenses often exceeds the minimum wage, forcing the working poor to work multiple jobs or seek public assistance to make ends meet. Understanding the true level of income required to cover housing, food, clothing, child care, transportation and medical expenses provides a more accurate benchmark for assessing the jobs available in a region or local area. The living wage also adjusts for regional variation in costs.

How is our county performing?

In Berks County in 2020, a family of four with two earners would each need to earn $19.03 an hour, for a total of $79,200 a year, to make a living wage. A family of four with one earner would need $28.64 per hour, or $59,600 a year. A single parent with two children would need to make $34.48 an hour, or about $71,700. Living in Berks was slightly costlier than the state as a whole.

Among neighboring counties, the living wage in Lancaster was similar to Berks for all household types. Living wages were lower than Berks in Lebanon and Schuylkill, and higher in Chester, Lehigh and Montgomery.

Notes about the data

Figures are in 2019 dollars and assume a 40-hour work week. The living wage model is an alternative measure of basic needs. It is a market-based approach that draws upon geographically specific expenditure data related to a family's likely minimum food, child care, health insurance, housing, transportation, and other basic necessities (e.g. clothing, personal care items, etc.) costs. More information on the sources of data for costs is available at http://livingwage.mit.edu/pages/about.

There may be additional research available on this topic. Click on Reports and Resources to learn more.