Tompkins County Living Wage Updated – Now $24.82/hour – Detailed Study

Alternatives Federal Credit Union and the Tompkins County Workers’ Center were pleased to join in the release of the 2025 Annual Living Wage Report today, February 26th. The Report, which can be found here, was produced by a team from the Ithaca and Buffalo Co-Labs of Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations led by Ian Greer and Rusty Weaver, respectively, both ILR Co-Lab Researchers. Watch VIDEO of Press Conference filmed by Alternatives Federal Credit Union.

• 2025 Living Wage = $24.82 for a single person without children (The living wage is the minimum hourly amount that a full-time [2,080 hours/year] worker must earn to afford basic necessities, without the need for public or private assistance;
• Nearly half of all people working in Tompkins County (over 23,000) make LESS than the living wage;
• The living wage has increased 34.5% in the last two years, while the NYS Minimum Wage has only risen 9%;
• Among the basic needs categories that make up the living wage, rent is by far the most significant item;
• While our calculation is just for a single person without children, there is an alternate online calculator from MIT that does provide local living wage figures for different family configurations in Tompkins County. It is here.