Living wage to afford life in Hamilton cracks $20

For the first time, the living wage needed to make a home in Hamilton was risen above $20 an hourm, according to the Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN).

The time last year the living wage for Hamilton was $19, or an annual $34,000 salary. It in eighth place among 10 regions of Ontario ranked from the higest living wage to the lowest. On the top of the list was the Greater Toronto Area, in this case meaning Toronto proper, Durham, Halton and Peel Regions. The GTA had a living wage of $23.15, or an annual $48,000.

A year later and Hamilton’s living wage had risen about 9.2 per cent to $20.80, or a $43,000 salary. The GTA by comparion jumped to $25.05 or a $52,000 salary, an 8.2 per cent increase. The change also pushed up Hamilton’s rank on the list. The GTA remains number one, but Hamilton rose up to fifth place.

The OLWN finds these rates by determining the costs of a basket of basic goods and services for three types of families: two 35-year-old parents with two children, ages three and seven; a single 35-year-old parent with a seven-year-old child; and a single 35-year-old adult.

They then determine the costs each of these group would rack up in food, shelter, clothes, transportation, child care and more. A full breakdown of expense averages is available online.