WDC Self Sufficiency standard

How much does it cost to live in King County? Below is a comparison of the 2001 poverty guidelines for the United States and the 2001 Self-Sufficiency Standard for Seattle and several surrounding areas. The Standard describes what kind of wage is necessary to be able to afford the basic necessities without public assistance.

The Standard assumes the worker's job provides basic health care benefits, and these numbers don’t include the base savings level that every household should have in the event of job loss or sudden income loss. The Standard describes a very bare bones budget. It's also worth mentioning that if a worker doesn’t have any employer-provided pension or retirement, and doesn't have the means to save money on their own, they will not be self-sufficient in later years.

2001 Self-Sufficiency Standard by geographical area	For a family consisting of an adult and an infant (2001 U.S. poverty guideline: $11,610)	For a family consisting of an adult, a teenager and a school-age child (2001 U.S. poverty guideline: $14,630)	For a family consisting of two adults, a teenager and a school-age child (2001 U.S. poverty guideline: $17,650)
Seattle	$30,671 ($14.52/hr.)	$26,488 ($12.54/hr.)	$40,569 ($9.60/hr. per adult)
Renton	$34,461 ($16.32/hr.)	$31,738 ($15.03/hr.)	$46,883 ($11.10/hr. per adult)
Bellevue, Juanita, Kirkland, Redmond	$37,247 ($17.64/hr.)	$34,625 ($16.39/hr.)	$49,669 ($11.76/hr. per adult)

Full reports (for 70 different family types and each county in the State) of the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington can be found here. Or check out the self-sufficiency calculator on the Workforce Development Council's site.