Do you make a living wage in Missouri? See how much you need to afford basics in 2025
You still need to make quite a bit of money to afford the basics in Missouri, new data shows.
The amount of money you need to earn to afford to live in Missouri has slightly increased since 2024, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s living wage calculator.
MIT defines the living wage as “the hourly rate that an individual in a household must earn to support themselves and/or their family, working full-time, or 2,080 hours per year.”
Missouri’s minimum wage in 2025 is $13.75, and the state’s minimum wage will increase to $15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2026, after a statewide vote in November. But is it enough to afford to live in the state?
Here’s what the data shows.
What is considered a living wage in Missouri in 2025?
The living wage for a single person living in Missouri in 2025 is $20.87 an hour, according to MIT. It’s $7 more than the state’s minimum wage and a slight increase from the 2024 living wage of $20.20.
The required annual income for a single person is $43,413 before taxes and $36,819 after taxes, MIT says.
A single person is defined as someone who lives alone and has no children. The living wages increase as more people are included in the calculations.
A single person who has one child would need to make $37.08 an hour, a single person with two children would need to make $47.26 and if they have three children, they’d need to make $58.15 to earn a living wage in Missouri.
Living wages and annual incomes also vary if there are more adults in the household who work:
- 2 adults (1 working), 0 children: $29.63 living wage, $53,215 salary after taxes
- 2 adults (2 working), 0 children: $14.81 living wage, $82,292 salary after taxes
- 2 adults (1 working), 1 child: $35.18 living wage, $53,564 salary after taxes
- 2 adults (2 working), 1 child: $21.06 living wage, $76,367 salary after taxes
- 2 adults (1 working), 2 children: $39.16 living wage, $72,443 salary after taxes
- 2 adults (2 working), 2 children: $21.06 living wage, $95,617 salary after taxes
- 2 adults (1 working), 3 children: $44.83 living wage, $83,451 salary after taxes
- 2 adults (2 working), 3 children: $30.77 living wage, $111,851 salary after taxes
What is the living wage in Kansas City?
The MIT living wage calculator has data on the living wages for the five counties in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Here’s how much a single person with no children would need to make hourly to earn a living wage in each one:
- Clay County: $22.99
- Jackson County: $21.91
- Platte County: $23.37
- Johnson County: $24.14
- Wyandotte County: $21.43
