Earning only the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour in Idaho will make it hard to live in relative comfort in the Gem State, where the statewide living wage is calculated at $9.59 per hour for a single adult.
A living wage is the amount an individual must earn per hour to live without going into debt or relying on government assistance. Costs factored into calculating a living wage,
according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which has created a living wage calculator for all 50 states, include food, housing, medical, transportation, child care, taxes and other expenses.
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In Idaho, a single adult living on a strict budget still needs a minimum of $3,607 per year for food and $5,407 for housing. Those earning only a minimum wage will have to work overtime to achieve this. Additionally those with children must earn significantly more. According to the MIT calculator, it takes $19.69 per hour for one adult raising one child to meet the living wage and $24.18 per hour for an adult with two children. The cost of childcare alone is high in Idaho at $5,216 annually for one child and $9,358 for two.
Idaho is not the only state in the U.S. to have a low minimum wage. Idaho is one of 14 states that adopted the federal minimum wage as its minimum wage. There are 29 states, including the District of Columbia, that mandate an employer pay a minimum wage higher than the federal government. Five states have no set minimum wage and another two have lower minimum wages than the federal governments, but all seven are required to pay the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour,
according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
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