Do you earn a living wage in California? Here’s how much you need to afford basics in 2025
If it feels like you’re living paycheck to paycheck in California, you’re not alone.
The amount of money you need to earn to afford living in the Golden State has increased since 2024, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s living wage calculator.
At $16.50, California’s minimum wage is nearly $9 higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
However, according to the MIT living wage calculator, a single adult with no children would need to earn almost double that amount — $28.72 an hour — to afford basic necessities in California.
Meanwhile, a single parent with three kids would need to earn an hourly wage of $82.16. That’s more than five times minimum wage.
MIT defines the living wage as “the hourly rate that an individual in a household must earn to support themselves and/or their family, working full-time, or 2,080 hours per year.”
In California, that means earning enough to afford food, housing, transportation and medical care.
Here’s how the numbers break down:
What is considered a living wage in California in 2025?
Here’s how much you need to earn per hour to earn a living wage in California in 2025, according to the MIT living wage calculator:
- Single adult with no children: $28.72
- Single adult with one child: $50.83
- Single adult with two children: $64.17
- Single adult with three children: $82.66
- Two working adults with no children: $38.53
- Two working adults with one child: $46.95
- Two working adults with two children: $51.15
- Two working adults with three children: $60.47
According to MIT calculations, a single adult in California with no children spends $4,566 annually on food.
Meanwhile, a person with at least one child invests $6,714 each year, a difference of more than $2,100, MIT data show.
Single people and couples with three children pay $39,819 each year for housing, according to MIT, while single adults and couples and with two kids shell out $30,279 yearly.
How much did living wages increase from 2025?
Living wages for single people, couples and families increased across the board compared to February 2024, according to MIT living wage calculator data.
For example, the living wage for a single adult with no children increased by $1.40 — about 5% —compared to the previous year.
Couples without children saw a living wage increase of $2.18, nearly 6% from 2024.
For single people with two children, the living wage has risen by about 4% — $2.59 — since the previous year.
Couples with two children saw living wages rise by $2.05, an increase of about 4% compared to 2024, while those with three children experienced an increase of $5.96 — nearly 11% — from the previous year.
There were living wages in California in 2024, according to the MIT living wage calculator:
- Single adult with no children: $27.32
- Single adult with one child: $47.96
- Single adult with two children: $61.58
- Single adult with three children: $82.16
- Two working adults with no children: $36.35
- Two working adults with one child: $44.11
- Two working adults with two children: $49.10
- Two working adults with three children: $54.51
Which expenses make living in California a challenge?
Nationwide, the cost of all items increased by 3.0% over the past 12 months as of Feb. 12, up from 2.9 in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Food costs remained at 2.5% over the same period, while energy services maintained at 3.3%.
Housing costs decreased to 4.4% across the nation, down from 4.6% in the prior federal agency report.
“The biggest issue on the average Californian’s mind is ‘how do I pay the bills?’ Utility bills, gas, housing costs, rent, eggs,” said California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City as reported by the Public Policy Institute of California. “This has always been the state that everyone wants to come to. ... But it’s becoming incredibly hard to live in.”
The median rent price in California was $2,750 as of Feb. 16, down $11 from $2,761 earlier in the month, according to the housing website Zillow.
Meanwhile, the statewide median sales price for a single-family home was $874,290 in February, an increase of more than $13,000 compared to $861,020 in December, according to the California Association of Realtors.
What’s the living wage in my California county?
Wondering how much you need to earn to live in a specific part of California?
You can look up the living wage in your California county or metropolitan statistical area online via the MIT living wage calculator.
Click on the name of your county or metro area to see living wage statistics specific to your area.
How does MIT calculate living wages in the US?
MIT developed the living wage calculator in 2003 to comprehensively estimate the employment earnings that a full-time worker requires to cover or support the costs of their family’s basic needs where they live.
The calculator features geographically-specific costs for food, child care, health care, housing, transportation and other basic needs as well as taxes at the county, metropolitan area and state levels for 12 different family types.
MIT said it looked at living wage estimates for a total of 3,143 counties to “account for the geographic variation in costs” across the United States, as well as 384 metropolitan statistical areas and 50 states plus Washington, D.C.
The data came from sources including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
MIT said the living wage calculator was last updated on Feb. 4.
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Do you earn a living wage in California? Here’s how much you need to afford basics in 2025."