New Living Wage report shows Okanagan at high end

Penticton has the highest living wage among the Okanagan communities at $18.55/hour.

That amount represents the hourly wage that each of two working parents with two young children must make to meet their basic expenses. That includes rent, child care, food and transportation once government taxes, credits, deductions and subsidies are taken into account.

Kelowna came in just slightly below Penticton at $18.49/hour, with Kamloops at a lower $16.71/hour, and Nelson raised some eyebrows at $19.59/hour.

Vernon was not among the communities surveyed by the group Living Wage For Families BC.

Housing and telecommunications were the areas with the biggest increases around B.C.

The report stated that while B.C. communities differ when it comes to their cost of living, families should be able to afford a decent life no matter where they live.

“The living wage would actually be $2 an hour higher if it wasn’t for things like childcare subsidies, the Canada child benefit, the elimination of MSP. Various different kinds of government policies have actually lowered the living wage,” Anastasia French of Living Wage for Families BC said.

All of the living wages listed are higher than B.C.’s minimum wage of $15.20 an hour.

(Graphic credit: Living Wage for Families)