What it takes to be financially 'self sufficient' in Wyoming

JACKSON — A single mother with two children has to make $45 an hour to be “self-sufficient” in Teton County.

The Wyoming Women’s Foundation’s 2024 Self Sufficiency Report reveals such a wage will cover a family’s basic expenses — transportation, groceries, health care, child care, taxes and housing (assuming rent is only $1,700 a month) — without room for most extraneous purchases.

When the foundation last released its report, in 2020, a three-person family in Teton County had to make $39 an hour. In 2005, it was $18 an hour.

“Yes, we all know that the costs have gone up,” said Rebekah Hazelton, the foundation’s director. “But we also know that wages are not keeping pace with cost increases.”

Per the 2022 census, the average family in the county is earning just a bit above the self-sufficiency mark — at $108,279, compared to $95,955.

But just because the average family in Teton County is struggling to make ends meet doesn’t mean it will qualify for federal food or housing assistance. A vast difference exists between federal poverty guidelines and the wages required to survive.

“Federal poverty guidelines are no longer relevant,” Hazelton said.

While the foundation argues that a three-person household in Teton County making less than $95,955 a year is effectively impoverished, federal guidelines state that a family must make below $25,820 a year to fall below the federal poverty line.

Those guidelines are set using the “Official Poverty Measure,” which compares pre-tax income against a threshold three times the cost of a minimum food diet. That has remained static since 1963, and Hazelton argues it fails to account for the costs of modern life.

“Back then, mothers often stayed at home, meaning families did not need to worry about the cost of child care,” she said. “So there were no child care costs, no amenities like cell phones, only one family car, and housing was far more proportional to wages.”

Nonetheless, federal poverty guidelines are still key to determining which families qualify for benefits.

Children over the age of 6 no longer qualify for Wyoming Medicaid coverage once a single parent of two children makes over $16 an hour, according to the report. Medicaid coverage for children under 6 disappears once that parent receives a raise to $17 an hour. Parents making over $27 an hour will lose their child care subsidies, and at $30 an hour they will lose all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

The tension between benefits and wages is a razor-edged balancing act for families.

“I know women who have asked their bosses to delay raises because they know if they get a raise, their expenses will go up,” Hazelton said.

Hazelton and her peers at the foundation developed the self-sufficiency standard as a “goal-setting” metric. Through understanding the income families across Wyoming need to cover expenses without benefits, the foundation can identify what costs create the most burden — and what careers offer the most respite. Their work particularly focuses on ensuring self-sufficiency for Wyoming women and mothers, who on average earn $0.69 for every $1 a man earns.

Child care stands out to Hazelton as a problem families are facing statewide.

“Some communities in the state don’t have access to child care at all. Many others do not have affordable child care,” Hazelton said. “And those moms often are not able to work, because they don’t have a safe or affordable place for their kids to go while they’re at work.”

The foundation’s report found that child care accounts for nearly one third of monthly expenses for single parents of two children living in Teton County.

Hazelton believes the solution lies in improved child care access and career opportunities for mothers to enter fields that pay self-sufficient wages.

“Of the 10 most common occupations in Wyoming, only two pay self-sufficient wages,” Hazelton said.

To address this, the foundation works in five areas: education, representation, health care, child care and income. It connects with Wyoming schools to offer connections to higher-paying careers; advocate for legislation that improves medicare coverage for pregnant mothers; and raise funds for dozens of community assistance organizations.

While Hazelton highlights workforce and child care, she agrees that the fight for self-sufficiency must be taken on from all angles: Housing, discrimination and more all contribute to barriers to self-sufficiency.

“It’s a big problem,” she said. “And we’re trying to tackle it bit by bit.”