Self-Sufficient Wages
Date posted: 05/22/2008
Quick Data Links
The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Colorado [pdf]calculates the income needed by working Colorado families to meet their basic needs without public or private assistance. The Standard uses a nationally tested model that incorporates the most reliable national and local data available to determine county-specific costs of basic necessities for 70 different family types [Excel]. The necessary wages defined in the Standard are not luxurious but they are not so low that they fail to adequately provide for a family.
What this chart shows: Annual Income Benchmarks for a Family of Four in Larimer County - 2004 & 2008
* Note: Full-time minimum wage is the current Federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour, and includes the net effect of the addition of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, and the subtraction of taxes.
Data Sources:
- Federal Poverty Guidelines
- 2008 Colorado Minimum Wage Law
- The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Colorado 2008: A Family Needs Budget (Figure 4 & Table 13)
- 1999 & Estimated 2008 Decile Distributions of Family Income
What these data tell us:
The Department of Housing and Urban Development defines 'low income' as 80% of the Median Family Income, or $60,000 (2008) in Larimer County. The Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute's 2008 Self-Sufficiency Standard calculated $55,584 as the minimum household income necessary for self-sufficiency for a family of four (two adults working full-time, one infant and one preschooler). In contrast, a family with one adult working full-time with one infant and one preschooler would have to earn $48,670 annually ($23.04 per hour) to be self-sufficient.A family with two adults working full-time minimum wage jobs would have earned $37,738 in 2008, representing an income increase of $9,544 from 2004, well below the minimum needed to be self-sufficient. However, during the same four year period, the self-sufficiency standard increased by $8,323 offsetting 87% of the income gain.
Data Sources: United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) - Estimated Decile Distributions of Family Income for years 2006, 2007 and 2008
What these data tell us:
The Department of Housing and Urban Development's annual report, Estimated Decile Distributions of Family Income, describes the income of households by ranking them (lowest to highest income) and dividing them into ten groups (deciles) of equal numbers of households. In Larimer County, households that are not impoverished, yet are challenged to remain self-sufficient, have incomes that most likely fall within the 2nd and 3rd deciles. For 2008 estimates, this includes families earning between $27,701 and $53,200 annually.Additional Information:
On Compass -
- Bankruptcy and Foreclosure
- Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)
- Children in Families - Single and Two Parents
- Economy: Business
- Food Stamps
- Free/ Reduced School Lunch
- Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP)
- Median Family Income
- Per Capita Income
- Poverty
- Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
Outside Compass -
- Colorado Center on Law and Policy - a non-profit, non-partisan organization that advocates on behalf of the poor, working poor and other vulnerable populations.
- Colorado Self-Sufficiency Fact Sheet - a brief description of the differences between the Federal Poverty Measure and the Self-Sufficiency Standard with comparisons among Colorado locations.
- Cost of Living Calculator
- Median Income
- Self-Sufficiency Budget Worksheet
- United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
Standards or Targets:
Data Tables:
Annual Income Benchmarks for a Family of Four in Larimer County - 2001, 2004, 2008
|
Family of Four: 2 Adults, 1 preschooler, 1 school age child |
Full-Time Minimum Wage |
Self-Sufficiency Income |
80% of MFI (Low Income) |
Median Family Income (MFI) |
|
2001 |
$29,086 |
$41,954 |
$46,550 |
$58,200 |
|
2004 |
$28,194 |
$47,261 |
$53,200 |
$66,500 |
|
2008 |
$37,738 |
$55,584 |
$60,000 |
$75,000 |
Larimer County Income Distribution by Deciles, 2001-2008
|
Deciles (10%) |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
|
1st |
$19,894 |
$20,783 |
$24,000 |
$24,600 |
$25,500 |
$25,300 |
$25,100 |
$27,700 |
|
2nd |
$30,528 |
$31,892 |
$35,800 |
$36,700 |
$38,000 |
$37,700 |
$37,500 |
$41,200 |
|
3rd |
$39,367 |
$41,126 |
$46,100 |
$47,300 |
$49,100 |
$48,700 |
$48,400 |
$53,200 |
|
4th |
$48,536 |
$50,704 |
$55,300 |
$56,800 |
$59,150 |
$58,700 |
$58,300 |
$64,100 |
|
Median |
$58,200 |
$60,800 |
$64,800 |
$66,500 |
$69,200 |
$68,600 |
$68,200 |
$75,000 |
|
6th |
$67,891 |
$70,924 |
$75,900 |
$77,900 |
$80,750 |
$80,100 |
$79,600 |
$87,500 |
|
7th |
$79,627 |
$83,184 |
$89,800 |
$92,100 |
$94,550 |
$93,800 |
$93,200 |
$102,500 |
|
8th |
$93,744 |
$97,932 |
$106,900 |
$109,700 |
$113,150 |
$112,200 |
$111,500 |
$122,600 |
|
9th |
$119,893 |
$125,249 |
$136,600 |
$140,200 |
$145,950 |
$144,800 |
$143,900 |
$158,200 |
|
9.5th |
$151,996 |
$158,786 |
$182,700 |
$182,700 |
$188,650 |
$187,100 |
$185,900 |
$204,500 |