iN NUMBERS: Living wages get further from the minimum wage in B.C.

British Columbia raises the minimum wage each year, but those raises aren’t closing the distance on the rising cost of living.

Living Wage BC is a program that calculates how much people need to make in a given community to afford basics like clothes, housing, food, internet and so on, based on a 35 hour work week. 

If you don’t make a living wage, don’t worry, maybe you’ll strike oil in your backyard like The Beverly Hillbillies.

Here are the latest numbers from Living Wage BC:

• 25.95: Dollars an hour is the living wage in Kelowna. 
• 25.10: Dollars an hour is the living wage in Penticton. 
• 24.15: Dollars an hour is the living wage in Kamloops.
• 24.10: Dollars an hour is the living wage in Vernon.
• 17.85: Dollars an hour is the current minimum wage in B.C.
• 27.85: Dollars an hour is the living wage in Metro Vancouver, which is 31 per cent higher than it was in 2021.
• 22: Dollars an hour is the average wage in Kelowna, according to the job site ZipRecruiter. 
• 32: Per cent of single, working age adults in B.C. who live alone or with a non-relative are in poverty. That’s the highest rate for any group.
• 28: Employers in Kelowna have a Living Wage Employer certification. That means they pay all their employees a living wage and applied to get the recognition.
• 24: Employers in Kamloops have a Living Wage Employer certification.
• 98: Per cent of living wage employers reported there was some benefit to paying everyone a living wage.