Most people aren't satisfied with the amount of money they take home, but we make it work. To add some perspective, an information map titled "How Much is the Living Wage in Each State" was released and Texas is on the lower end of the spectrum. Don't worry, that's a good thing because it means it takes less money for us Texans to appreciate the finer things in life - like BBQ, booze and concerts.

Texas has the 29th lowest living wage out of 50 states.

According to statistics, Texas' average living wage is $48,000 per year. Sounds pretty high, right (I may have inadvertently revealed details about my pay)? However, Texas falls right in the middle of the pack with Washington D.C ($68K), New York ($59K) and California ($57K) setting the bar at the top and Kentucky ($44K) and Arkansas ($44.5K) rounding out the lowest living wages.

Looking even closer with the Living Wage Map, Bell County has a lower living wage than the state average. The average living wage for a parent with a spouse and two children is $22 per hour. If you calculate 40 hours per week at 52 weeks per year, that amounts to $45,760.

The minimum wage in Bell County is $7.25 an hour. What does that mean? It means we should maybe consider raising the minimum wage as there is a significant gap between what the livable wage is and what a lot of people are making.

 

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