How much does it cost to live in this part of the nation? The answer depends on a lot of variables, as demonstrated by the Cost of Living Calculator devised by Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development.
A few determining factors include the number of household members and what part of the state they live in. No matter the circumstances, every individual needs a certain amount of income in order to access the essentials of daily living, including food, shelter, transportation, and other basic needs.
In 2015, MIT estimated the livable wage to be $15.12 on average across the United States for a family of four with two working adults and two children.
So it shouldn’t be so surprising that $16.16 is the average desired minimum wage that has been specified by the last 100 people who registered on NORTHFORCE and listed a wage range.
DEED’s Cost of Living calculator turns up similar stats for Minnesota specifically. Go ahead and try it out for yourself! This is a very cool tool. Just keep in mind that there are certain variables that aren’t taken into account in this COL calculation. For example, one big factor in many cases is student loan payments! All of a sudden, cost of living can go up quite a bit month to month for recent grads. Or how about daycare costs for working parents? This gives a sense for how complicated calculating the cost of living can really be.
On NORTHFORCE, desired minimum wage varies widely. Two major determining factors include candidates’ experience levels and educational backgrounds.
As you can see, candidates with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree expect $19.91 an hour on average. Compare this to the $12.15 an hour desired by users with a high school diploma or the equivalent.
Entry level candidates on average are looking for $14.31 an hour right out of the gate. Compare that to the $22.00 per hour that candidates with 15 years or more of experience under their belts require.
For more workforce data and insights like this, contact NORTHFORCE!
