What's The Difference Between Minimum Wage and Living Wage in Wisconsin?

The minimum wage in the state of Wisconsin stands at $7.25 per hour, as mandated by the federal government since 2009, but Wisconsin has become a battleground state in the nationwide "Fight for $15."

A $15 minimum wage would push the barest pay rate closer to what is considered a living wage in Wisconsin.

The push for new legislation that would increase the minimum hourly rate to $15 reached the Wisconsin Legislature.

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Rep. Melissa Sargent (D-Madison) introduced such a bill in 2015 that would have raised the minimum wage to $15 over a five-year span.

“Wisconsin’s hardworking people are really the people that … are barely making enough to make ends meet in the current system,” Sargent said, according to The Badger Herald.

The bill faced long odds as Republicans controlled Assembly and Senate chambers.

According to Fox 6 Now, Sargent labeled the state’s $7.25-per-hour minimum wage as “unlivable.”

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To examine this exact point, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology calculated what determines a living wage that one would need to earn in each state.

MIT's living wage calculator factored in the average amount of expenses residents of the areas spend on things such as healthcare and food.

According to the MIT, the living wage for a single adult to be self-sufficient is $10.13 per hour, approximately $2 more per hour than the minimum wage, in 2014.

When the amount of people that person has to support increases, the living wage increases accordingly.

For a single parent supporting one child, the living wage in Wisconsin rose to $22.38 per hour. This rate was almost three times more than the minimum wage — stating that it was essentially impossible for someone to be a single parent making minimum wage and support a child.

MIT calculated in 2014 that $7 per hour would be considered a poverty wage for a single parent with one child in Wisconsin.

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