THE SELF-SUFFICIENCY STANDARD FOR WASHINGTON STATE 2020 Prepared for Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL OF SEATTLE-KING COUNTY ­The­Workforce­Development­Council­of­Seattle-King­County­(WDC)­is­a­nonprofit­workforce­grant-funding­ organization­dedicated­to­creating­an­outcome-­and­equity-focused­industry-driven­regional­workforce­ system­that­ensures­residents­have­the­skills­and­support­needed­to­secure­and­advance­in­jobs­that­ lead­to­economic­security.­The­WDC­is­proud­to­serve­as­a­steward­of­public­and­private­workforce­funding­ and­forge­relationships­across­industries­and­sectors­to­ensure­investments­deliver­high-impact­results­ and­follow­transparent­processes. The­WDC­is­led­by­a­majority­private­sector­board­representing­industry,­labor,­education,­ government,­and­community-based­organizations.­The­WDC­oversees­WorkSource­Seattle-King­ County (WorkSourceSKC.org)­at­more­than­40­locations,­part­of­the­statewide­WorkSource­network­ (WorkSourceWA.com)­and­nationwide­American­Job­Center­Network­(CareerOneStop.org). The­WDC­champions­the­development­of­labor­market­research­and­education­tools­and­assists­with­ disseminating­these­resources­to­partners­and­individuals.­This­includes­the­Self-Sufficiency­Calculator,­ Map Your Career,­Career Coach,­and­the­Talent Pipeline Application. MISSION: To champion a workforce and learning system that allows our region to be a world leader in producing a vibrant economy, and lifelong employment and training opportunities for every resident. VISION: Leadership toward an inclusive, dynamic regional economy. For­further­information,­please­visit­www.seakingwdc.org. The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2020 By Diana M. Pearce, PhD • AUGUST 2020 DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR WOMEN’S WELFARE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK PREPARED FOR The Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County Acknowledgments The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2020 has been prepared through the cooperative efforts of Annie Kucklick, Lisa Manzer, and Aleksandra Umanskaya at the University of Washington, Center for Women’s Welfare, and staff of the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County. A number of other people have also contributed to the development of the Standard, its calculation, and the writing of state reports over the past 23 years. Jennifer Brooks, Maureen Golga, and Kate Farrar, former Directors of Self-Sufficiency Programs and Policies at Wider Opportunities for Women, were key to the early development of initiatives that promoted the concept of self-sufficiency and the use of the Standard, and were instrumental in facilitating and nurturing state coalitions. Additional past contributors to the Standard have included Laura Henze Russell, Janice Hamilton Outtz, Roberta Spalter-Roth, Antonia Juhasz, Alice Gates, Alesha Durfee, Melanie Lavelle, Nina Dunning, Maureen Newby, and Seook Jeong. The conclusions and opinions contained within this document do not necessarily reflect the opinions of those listed above. Any mistakes are the author’s responsibility. The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2020 ©2020 Diana Pearce and the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County Preface The Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County is publishing The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2020 in an effort to ensure that the best data and analyses are available to enable Washington’s families and individuals to make progress toward real economic security. The result is a comprehensive, credible, and user-friendly tool. This report presents and analyzes The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2020. This measure calculates how much income a family must earn to meet basic needs, with the amount varying by family composition and where they live in Washington State. The Standard presented here is a tool that can be used in a variety of ways—by clients of workforce and training programs seeking paths to self-sufficiency, by program managers evaluating program effectiveness, and by policymakers and legislators seeking to ensure that basic needs are affordable for Washington State families. As with all Self-Sufficiency Standard reports,The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2020 was authored by Dr. Diana M. Pearce and produced by the Center for Women’s Welfare at the University of Washington. This report, plus tables providing county-specific information for over 700 family types, is available at http://selfsufficiencystandard.org/Washington. Or, download the report at www.seakingwdc.org/worksource-resources and look up the Standard at www.thecalculator.org/. Dr. Diana Pearce developed the Self-Sufficiency Standard while she was the Director of the Women and Poverty Project at Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW). The Ford Foundation provided funding for the Standard’s original development. Over the past 23 years the Standard has been calculated for 41 states as well as the District of Columbia and New York City. Its use has transformed the way policies and programs for low-income workers are structured and has contributed to a greater understanding of what it takes to have adequate income to meet one’s basic needs in the United States. For further information about any of the other states with the Standard, including the latest reports, the Standard data itself, and related publications such as demographic reports (which analyze how many and which households are above and below the Standard), please see www.selfsufficiencystandard.org. For further information, contact Annie Kucklick with the Center at (206) 685-5264/ [email protected], or the report author and Center Director, Dr. Diana Pearce, at (206) 616-2850/ [email protected]. The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2020 | v Key Findings At the heart of this report is the Self-Sufficiency Standard itself. This measure describes how much income families of various sizes and compositions need to make ends meet without public or private assistance in each county in Washington State. The Self-Sufficiency Standard is a measure of income adequacy that is based on the costs of basic needs for working families: housing, child care, food, health care, transportation, and miscellaneous items, as well as the cost of taxes and the impact of tax credits. In addition, this report provides for each family type, in each county, the amount of emergency savings required to meet needs during a period of unemployment or other emergency. The official poverty measure, developed half a century ago, is now methodologically out of date and no longer accurately measures the ability to provide for oneself and one’s family—at best it measures deprivation. Throughout Washington State, the Self-Sufficiency Standard shows that incomes well above the official federal poverty thresholds are nevertheless far below what is necessary to meet families’ basic needs. Note that these budgets are “bare bones,” with just enough allotted to families to meet their basic needs, but no extras. Thus the food budget is only for groceries, and does not allow for any takeout or restaurant food, not even a pizza or an ice cream. The Self-Sufficiency Standard is a measure of income adequacy that is based on the costs of basic needs for working families: housing, child care, food, health care, transportation, and miscellaneous items, as well as the cost of taxes and the impact of tax credits. Selected Findings from the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2020 • The amount needed to meet the costs of basic needs increased faster than median earnings between 2001 and 2020 in all Washington State counties. For a family with two adults, one preschooler, and one school-age child, the Standard increased on average by 72%, across the state. This contrasts with the median wage, which only increased 60% over this period. See Figure E on page 12 and Table 2 on page 14. • The Standard varies by family type; that is, by how many adults and children are in a family and the age of each child. One adult living in Snohomish County (West) needs an hourly wage of $17.42 ($36,791 annually) to meet basic needs. For families with children, the amount needed to cover basic needs increases considerably. If the single adult has a preschooler and a school-age child, the amount vi | The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2020 necessary to be economically secure doubles, increasing to $35.32 per hour ($74,590 annually) in order to cover the cost of child care, a larger housing unit, and increased food and health care costs. See Table 1 on page 6. • In Washington State, the amount needed to be economically self-sufficient also varies considerably by geographic location. For instance, the amount needed to make ends meet for one adult and one preschooler varies from $16.12 per hour in Lincoln County to $37.59 per hour in King County (East), or from 197% of the federal poverty guidelines to 460% of the federal poverty guidelines for a family of two. See Figure A on page 7. • For families with young children, the cost of housing and child care combined typically make up nearly half of the family’s budget. For example, for a family with two adults, one infant, and one preschooler in Yakima County, child care is 32% of the family’s budget while housing is 19%. See Figure B on page 8. • The 2020 Self-Sufficiency Standard for King County (City of Seattle) is higher than many comparable cities around the country. The Self-Sufficiency Standard for one adult, one preschooler, and one school-age child in King County (City of Seattle) ($38.85 per hour) is most comparable to Portland, OR, but more than Chicago, IL, Phoenix, AZ, and Denver, CO. See Figure C on page 10. • The federal poverty guidelines for three-person families ($21,720 annually) is set at a level well below what is minimally needed to meet a family’s basic needs. For example, the federal poverty guideline is just 33% of the Standard for one adult and two infants in Thurston County ($30.84 per hour and $65,141 annually).