Living Minimum Wage Calculator

This calculator uses a formula proposed by Mark Wheeler II (U.S. Senate 2026) to compute a living minimum wage specific to your location.

The Formula

First, we add up six categories of necessary monthly living expenses for your region:

B_r = H_r + F_r + T_r + I_r + U_r + M_r

• H_r — Housing: Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom unit
• F_r — Food: USDA Moderate Food Plan for one adult
• T_r — Transportation: Basic transit and vehicle costs
• I_r — Internet & Phone: Broadband and mobile service
• U_r — Utilities: Electricity and water
• M_r — Healthcare: ACA Silver plan premium (30-year-old, non-smoker)

Then we compute the hourly wage needed to cover those expenses plus savings and retirement:

W_min,r = B_r × (1 + s + k) / H

• s — Savings rate (default 10%)
• k — Retirement contribution rate (default 10%)
• H — Annual work hours (default 2,080 = 40 hours/week × 52 weeks)

Data Granularity

Each cost component uses the most local data available, falling back to broader averages when local data isn't available. For example, housing may use zip-level Small Area FMR data where available, or fall back to county or national figures. The Data Level column in the breakdown table shows which granularity was used for each component.