Powered by our county-level living wage data, Dayforce's new Earning Enough report finds that only half of full-time American workers earn enough to meet their family's basic needs, and fewer workers are earning family-sustaining wages than in 2021. In this blog, we dive into what the Dayforce data reveals and why the findings matter for employers today. The five-year trend: Hourly workers lost ground To capture changes in worker earnings between 2021 and 2025, the Dayforce r

In our last blog post , we shared a first look at the 2026 living wage data. Here, we dig into how living wages have changed in the last year, the different cost burden drivers for working families across the country, and how where you live shapes what you need to cover your basic expenses. How family budgets have changed since 2025 Between 2025 and 2026, the family-sustaining wage—what one full-time worker needs to earn to support a family of two working adults and two child

What does it actually cost to raise a family in the U.S. in 2026? The answer depends enormously on where you live and who you live with. This post recaps the key insights about family-sustaining living wages from our recent webinar, Inside the 2026 Living Wage Data . Geography matters for living wages Across U.S. counties, family-sustaining wages—or what one full-time worker in a household of two working adults with two children needs to cover expenses—ranged from $19.79 to $