Here’s how much money you need to earn on MS Coast just to get by in 2026
Even with full-time jobs, many workers still struggle to earn enough to meet the basic standards of living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The challenge is even more pronounced across the state, which has the largest population of residents living in counties in sustained poverty for 20 years, at 36% of the population, according to U.S. Census data published in February.
So how much income does it take to earn a living wage on the Mississippi Coast in 2026? Here’s what the data shows.
What’s a living wage for workers in Gulfport-Biloxi in 2026?
The hourly rate an individual working full-time needs to make to support just themselves while living on the Mississippi Coast in 2026 is $20.58, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator, which was updated in February.
That’s nearly three times the state’s minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
The number varies based on household situation. Here are estimates for individuals and households with one or two working adults and zero to three children, according to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator:
- One adult, no children: $20.58
- One adult, one child: $33.93
- One adult, two children: $42.52
- One adult, three children: $51.93
- Two adults (one working), no children: $28.65
- Two adults, one child: $34.30
- Two adults, two children: $37.01
- Two adults, three children: $42.54
- Two adults (both working), no children: $14.19
- Two adults, one child: $19.63
- Two adults, two children: $23.37
- Two adults, three children: $27.66
MIT’s Living Wage Calculator features geographically specified costs for food, childcare, health care, housing, transportation, household goods, personal care items and taxes to give a comprehensive estimate of the amount needed for a person to support their basic needs where they live, according to analysts.
When was the last time Mississippi’s minimum wage increased?
Mississippi hasn’t increased its minimum wage in about 17 years. The last increase was in 2009 when the federal minimum wage went up from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Several states, including the Magnolia State, don’t have state-level minimum wage laws and rely on the federal rate.
A bill to enact a minimum wage law was introduced in Mississippi this year but died in committee in February.
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
