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Here are the Center's LIS or "living wage" numbers for Buncombe County:

 

1. Two person family (one adult, one child) = $13.76 / hour ($28,616 / year, which is 200% of the Federal Poverty Level)

 

2. Three person family (one adult, two children) = $16.53 / hour ($34,392 / year)

 

3. Four person family (two adults, two children) = $19.19 / hour ($39,911 / year)

 

4. Five person family (two adults, three children) = $24.21 / hour ($50,354 / year)

 

 

The Center's LIS methodology is more detailed than the Asheville/Buncombe Living Wage's cost-of-housing formula (which has it's advantages because of its simplicity) and considers the cost of housing, food, childcare, health care, transportation, other necessities, and taxes.

The study found that adults in the average North Carolina family would need to make a combined income of $19.80 per hour for every working hour of every week of the year. Yet 37% of the families included in the study fell below that modest income threshold.

 

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