Living Wage for Us

Living wage in Montezuma County, Colorado, 2027

The 2027 living wage in Montezuma County, Colorado is $22.00 an hour for each worker, for a typical family of four (two adults and two children). This assumes full-time work (2,080 hours a year) and about 1.75 full-time-equivalent workers in a typical family.

Living wage
$22.00 / hour
Per worker, 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, when a typical family has about 1.75 workers.
Income needed, family
$6,662 / month
Before taxes: all of the family’s costs plus the taxes it pays. About $79,943 a year.
If one worker earned it all
$38.43 / hour
The family’s income needed for a year divided by 2,080 hours. In Colorado, 20.2% of families like this one (two adults with children) have a single earner.

Where the costs come from

Rate county San Juan County, NM sets this rate.

This is the lowest-cost commuting county from which the cost-of-living figures are pulled for this living wage. San Juan County, NM borders Montezuma County, CO and is in the same USDA commuting zone.

The costs in Montezuma County, CO itself would give $28.23 an hour. The published rate uses the lower figure.

What the family’s income covers

Monthly amounts for a typical family of four, using the costs in San Juan County, NM. Amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar, so they may not add exactly.

CostSharePer month
Housing16.3%$1,085
Food14.7%$980
Transportation25.0%$1,668
Health carepremiums after credits, plus out-of-pocket costs9.2%$611
Carechild care, elder care and retirement saving5.0%$333
Other necessities13.5%$903
Resiliency margina margin for unexpected costs, set at 5% of the net living wage before accounting for public benefits6.0%$398
Taxesfederal, state, local and payroll, net of credits10.3%$684
Income needed (before taxes, all costs and taxes)100%$6,662

How the hourly wage is worked out: the family needs about $6,662 a month, which is $79,943 a year. $79,943 ÷ (2,080 hours × 1.7471 typical workers per family) = $22.00 an hour.

A floor, not a ceiling

The living wage is the least a worker needs to earn to support a typical family here. It is a floor, not a ceiling. A living wage does not have to come from hourly pay alone: if an employer offers benefits or bonuses, or workers receive tips, total compensation may already reach it.

Leading Living Wage Certification

For employers that have achieved the full living wage for every worker. The living wage for Montezuma County, CO is $22.00 an hour. We count each worker’s total compensation, including pay, benefits, bonuses and tips, when we assess against this rate.

Pledged Living Wage Employer

For employers that publicly commit to achieving a living wage. Each year we check that they keep up with living wage rate increases and close gaps for workers paid below a living wage, at a rate of 3% of overall wages for those workers, in addition to inflationary increases. The pledged rate for Montezuma County, CO is $21.00 an hour. We count each worker’s total compensation, including pay, benefits, bonuses and tips, when we assess against this rate.

Contact us about certification

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Using this data

You may quote the rates on this page, with attribution, for up to 10 locations. Please do not copy, scrape or compile the rates in bulk. For bulk or ongoing use, including a spreadsheet of the data, contact us about a licence.

To cite this page: Living Wage for Us, 2027 living wage for Montezuma County, Colorado, https://livingwageforus.org/living-wage-rates/co/montezuma-county/