Across Texas, income inequality continues to grow. One problem is a lack of living wages; in North Texas, only 54.6% of full-time workers earn a living wage.  

This is a challenge that we can tackle as a community—because when more people earn a living wage, our entire region benefits. 

What is a living wage in Dallas? 

A living wage for a local household with two working adults and two children is $25.78 an hour, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, which would total about $53,600 a year. 

That’s more than three times the minimum wage in Texas. The living wage threshold is even higher for people with more children and single parents.  

What is the definition of a living wage? 

A living wage is the minimum income a full-time worker needs to earn to pay for the basic necessities, including housing, clothing, food, childcare, transportation, healthcare and taxes, without needing additional support from the government or other agencies.  

Is a living wage the same as minimum wage in Texas?  

Some people equate the term “living wage” with “minimum wage.” But in many areas, minimum wage is well below what experts consider a living wage. Texas follows the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 per hour since 2009.  

What is a living wage for a single adult in Dallas? 

For a single adult without children, $23.31 an hour is considered a living wage.  

How much does a family need to earn in Dallas? 

If a family with two adults working full time has one child, they need to each make $21.49 an hour to earn a living wage. If they have two children, the hourly living wage is $25.78, and if they have three children, the hourly living wage goes up to $31.03 for both workers. 

How can we increase living wages for workers in North Texas? 

As the cost of living in Texas continues to rise, in part due to inflation, the average salary in our region hasn’t kept pace. Without access to living wages, many North Texans aren’t able to achieve financial stability, which supports strong families and strong communities.  

So how do we ensure more workers qualify for living-wage jobs? We make it easier for them to access advanced training and certification. According to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and related workforce studies, by 2030, more than 60% of jobs in Texas will require at least some postsecondary education, such as certificates, associate degrees or bachelor’s degrees. 

Research supports that students who do not pursue post-secondary pathways through college or a workforce credential will face lower lifetime earnings and risk high unemployment.  

As Greg Mangum, vice president of economic mobility at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, explains, “This negatively impacts individuals, families and the entire North Texas economy. Our community must deliver sustained investment to support these post-secondary pathways and workforce readiness efforts.” 

How does United Way work with supporters to increase living wages? 

At United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, we are focused on connecting North Texans to living wage jobs. One of our key goals by 2030 is to increase by 20% the number of North Texas young adults earning a living wage, which would add nearly $800 million in wages per year to the economy. 

Since establishing that goal five years ago, we’ve made steady progress as a community on increasing the number of people earning a living wage. According to the latest data, 76% of North Texas young adults are earning a living wage, up from 64% in 2020.  

Of course, there is more work to be done—particularly in the midst of an uncertain economy and stubborn inflation. To meet our target of 84% of young workers earning a living wage, we’ll need to maintain annual growth of 1.5% or more. 

To improve access to living-wage jobs, we lead and invest in programs that equip young adults with the tools and comprehensive training they need to earn a well-paying job and advance in their careers. 

For example, through Dollars for College, we make it easier for low- and moderate-income North Texans to establish college savings accounts. This small action can have a huge impact: With as little as $500 saved, children are three times more likely to attend college and four times more likely to graduate. 

Meanwhile, workforce development initiatives like our Pathways to Work program set up workers for success and engage employers to strengthen the workforce readiness pipeline. Through our Southern Dallas Thrive Initiative, last year we joined partners Arcosa, the PepsiCo Foundation and Dallas College to launch a community workforce training center at Dallas College’s RedBird location. 

These types of initiatives can be transformative for a community’s workforce, and we’re seeing positive progress across our region. 

Let’s Create Strong Pathways to Living-Wage Careers 

The good news is that we can come together as a community to create more pathways to living-wage jobs in Dallas.  

Thanks to supporters like you, last year United Way connected more than 571,000 local workers with the training and resources necessary to make more money, avoid debt and build savings. Together, we can connect even more workers with living-wage jobs so that everyone in our region has the opportunity to thrive. Make a donation today.