Self-Sufficiency Standard Interactive Calculator

Instructions for using the Self-Sufficiency Standard Calculator can be found below.

TO USE THE SELF-SUFFICIENCY STANDARD CALCULATOR

STEP 1    Choose a town from the Select Town dropdown listing Connecticut’s 169 towns.

STEP 2    Choose the size and composition of a Family Type.  You can choose a family with one to three adults and zero to six children. The age groupings of the family type are:

Adults:                Ages 18 and over

Infants:               Ages 0 to 35 months

Preschoolers:     Ages 3 to 5 years

Schoolagers:       Ages 6 to 12 years

Teenagers:         Ages 13 to 18 years

RESULTS

The dashboard will then automatically calculate estimated monthly costs for that town and family size/composition on the lines under Monthly Costs in TOWN, CT 2019. The monthly costs include housing, child care, health care, food, transportation, miscellaneous and taxes and amounts for certain tax credits.  You will not able to input different monthly cost figures in this calculator, only change the town and family size/composition. The figures called Self-Sufficiency Standard in the resulting calculation represent the hourly, monthly and annual wages that a family of that size and composition in that town needs to cover its monthly costs. A final line in the calculation shows an additional amount called Emergency Savings that represents savings that would be needed to meet costs during a period of unemployment or other emergency.

A detailed description of what is contained within these costs and the resulting Self-Sufficiency Standard amounts can be found in the document The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Connecticut 2019, which can be accessed on OHS' website: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/OHS/Affordability-Standard-Advisory/Self-Sufficiency-Standard/Self-Sufficiency-Standard-Report-2019.pdf or by visiting: http://www.selfsufficiencystandard.org/connecticut