The Cost of Living for Families in West Virginia

The Self-Sufficiency Standard varies by family type and geographic location; therefore, the amount of money needed by a family to be considered economically self-sufficient depends upon family size and composition, the age of children, and where the family resides.

In the following example, Kanawha County is broken down into four selected family types: One adult; one adult, one preschooler; one adult, one preschooler, one school age; and two adults, one preschooler, one school age.

Monthly costs are then broken out by component, and include housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, miscellaneous, and taxes. For those families with children, earned income tax credits, child care tax credits, and child tax credits are provided.

According to the Self-Sufficiency Standard, one adult residing in Kanawha County and working full-time must earn $8.77 an hour to be considered self-sufficient. The adult’s monthly expenses and the percent of the total budget of these expenses are then provided. Housing costs, including utilities except telephone, is calculated at $509 per month for one working adult in Kanawha County. This cost is calculated at 33 percent of total budget. Food costs excluding all food prepared outside the home is calculated at $215 a month, or 14 percent of the monthly budget. Transportation costs, which include insurance, license, registration, taxes, repairs, monthly payments, and finance charges on a private vehicle, are calculated at $366 a month. The cost of health care (employer-sponsored health insurance coverage is assumed in the Standard), miscellaneous (including clothing), and taxes is also explored.

These monthly costs are then calculated for three other family types. Because these remaining family types contain a child or children, child-care costs have been added to other monthly expenses.

Table 2 The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Charleston, WV MSA, 2009 Kanawha County
Monthly Costs	One Adult				One Adult,		Two Adults,
			One Adult,		One Preschooler,		One Preschooler,
			One Preschooler		One School age		One School age
	Costs	% of Total	Costs	% of Total	Costs	% of Total	Costs	% of Total
Housing	$ 509	33%	$ 636	27%	$ 636	22%	$ 636	17%
Child Care	$ -	0%	$ 437	19%	$ 732	26%	$ 732	20%
Food	$ 215	14%	$ 338	14%	$ 513	18%	$ 728	19%
Transportation	$ 366	24%	$ 376	16%	$ 376	13%	$ 742	20%
Health Care	$ 119	8%	$ 214	9%	$ 238	8%	$ 288	8%
Miscellaneous	$ 121	8%	$ 200	9%	$ 250	9%	$ 313	8%
Taxes	$ 213	14%	$ 389	17%	$ 505	18%	$ 636	17%
Earned Income Tax Credit (-)	$ -	0%	-$91	-4%	-$85	-3%	-$54	-1%
Child Care Tax Credit (-)	$ -	0%	-$73	-3%	-$130	-5%	-$105	-3%
Child Tax Credit (-)	$ -	0%	-$83	-4%	-$167	-6%	-$167	-4%
Total Percent		100%		100%		100%		100%
Self-Sufficiency Wage
-Hourly	$8.77		$13.31		$16.30		$10.65	per adult***
-Monthly	$1,543		$2,343		$2,868		$3,750	combined***
Annual	$18,515		$28,114		$34,420		$44,995	combined***

* The Standard is calculated by adding expenses and taxes and subtracting tax credits. Taxes include federal, state and city income taxes (including state tax credits except state EITC) and payroll taxes.

** The hourly wage is calculated by dividing the monthly wage by 176 hours (8 hours per day times 22 days per month).

*** The hourly wage for families with two adults represents the hourly wage that each adult would need to earn, while the monthly and annual wages represent both parents’ wages combines.

Note: Totals may not add exactly due to rounding.