In the United States, and of course across the world wages are often, or at least at times insufficient to allow for a basic, minimum standard of living.

As a response to this in the American context, community organizers have begun to successfully argue that the prevailing wage provided by the public sector and many key industries should reflect a wage rate that at least allows for a minimum standard of living within a local context.

MIT has developed a tool called the MIT Living Wage Calculator to help estimate the minimum wage required to meet a minimum standard of living across the United States.

To learn more about the thinking behind the wage calculator and to use the wage calculator itself click here.