Why is Self Sufficiency Important?
This calculator is based on the Self Sufficiency Standard, which measures how much income is needed for a family of a given composition - one person household to large family size - in a given place, to adequately meet its basic needs without any public or private assistance.
This free on-line tool does the following:
- Shows you what hourly wage you must make to support yourself or your family, based on where you live.
- Tells you what you and/or your family should be making based on market value prices for rent, food, health care, transportation, taxes, child care and miscellaneous expenses.
- Allows you to test different work or living options and see how this affects your bottom line.
The Self Sufficiency Calculator helps you:
- Determine what wage you need to earn to cover your basic household expenses.
- Test if a job you are considering will pay enough to meet your family's needs.
- Determine if you are eligible for public benefits that can help with expenses like health care or child care.
- Develop career planning goals so you can work towards a better paying job.
Self Sufficiency Wages are family sustaining wages.
