Louisiana’s Living Wage Shows Stark Differences Across The State

(KMDL-FM) The economic news is not the best for residents of South Louisiana. Like everyone else in the nation, we are facing higher prices on just about everything. You can pin the blame for those high prices wherever you want to, but even with a scapegoat, somebody is still going to have to pay. That somebody looks a lot like that person you see in your mirror every morning.

READ MORE: How Much Have Gas Prices Risen in Louisiana?

The recent increase in gas prices is not helping our economic situation, as we've seen the price of gas rise by more than .50 cents per gallon in the past ten days. But here in Louisiana, we are "lucky" as far as fuel prices are concerned. We have some of the lowest fuel costs in the country, but the prices are rising.

How Much Money Do You Need to Make Just to Live in Louisiana?

This brings us to an economic concept known as the "living wage". A living wage is defined as the minimum hourly rate allowing full-time workers to meet basic needs. Among those basic needs are housing, food, healthcare, transportation, and taxes without the need for external assistance.

The "living wage" varies from region to region around the country as different economic influences are accounted for. The concept of a living wage helps us better understand the difference between living, living well, and just existing. For far too many people in Louisiana, "just existing" is more the rule than the exception.

Developers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a Living Wage Calculator. This online tool allows you to estimate what your cost of living might be as you make decisions about where you might choose to live or a job you might be interested in taking.

Which Places Are the Most Expensive to Live?

For example, when data is entered into the program, we can see that places like Massachusetts, Hawaii, California, and New York are the most expensive places to live. You'd have to earn about $28 an hour or more to exist in those places.

Conversely, the same or a similar standard of living in South Dakota would require only an hourly wage of $13.87 for a single individual to "get by". Other places where you don't need to earn a lot per hour include West Virginia, Arkansas, and Mississippi.

READ MORE: Louisiana Shoppers Not Happy With New Dollar Tree Policy

Louisiana, as you might imagine, fits in closer to the bottom of the list than the top of the list. But with the Living Wage Calculator, you actually break the details down by parish. That's what we did for seven parishes in the Acadiana area.

Check out our list below, and you can get a better idea of what kind of economic footing you're standing on. I do hope it's solid ground, but the reality is that here in Louisiana, even that can be hard to find.