Use the table to answer the question. Items Cost food and groceries $821.33 medical $751.33 housing $1,324.17 transportation $1,251.00 monthly taxes $882.58 other necessities $745.67 The table shows the monthly basic needs budget for a 2-child family with 1 working adult in Fort Worth, Texas. Determine what hourly wage, working full-time, is required to meet the family’s basic needs. Round to the nearest hundredth. (1 point) $

1 answer

To determine the hourly wage required to meet the family's basic needs, we first need to find the total monthly expenses based on the provided budget breakdown. Here's how we can do that:

  1. Add up all the costs:
    • Cost of food and groceries: $821.33
    • Medical: $751.33
    • Housing: $1,324.17
    • Transportation: $1,251.00
    • Monthly taxes: $882.58
    • Other necessities: $745.67

Now, let's calculate the total:

\[ \text{Total} = 821.33 + 751.33 + 1324.17 + 1251.00 + 882.58 + 745.67 \]

Calculating that step-by-step:

  • \(821.33 + 751.33 = 1572.66\)
  • \(1572.66 + 1324.17 = 2896.83\)
  • \(2896.83 + 1251.00 = 4147.83\)
  • \(4147.83 + 882.58 = 5030.41\)
  • \(5030.41 + 745.67 = 5776.08\)

So, the total monthly budget is $5776.08.

  1. Determine the required hourly wage: Assuming a full-time job means working 40 hours a week for 4 weeks in a month (160 hours total), we can find out the hourly wage needed:

\[ \text{Hourly Wage} = \frac{\text{Total Monthly Budget}}{\text{Total Hours Worked in a Month}} \]

\[ \text{Hourly Wage} = \frac{5776.08}{160} \]

Calculating that:

\[ \text{Hourly Wage} = 36.10 \]

Thus, the hourly wage required to meet the family's basic needs is $36.10.