KSJD Local Newscast - February 18, 2025

Of the five counties in Region 9, Montezuma County is the least expensive for a family of four to live in. That is one finding of an updated report titled “Livable Wages in Southwest Colorado.” Region 9 executive director Laura Lewis Marchino gave a presentation on the report to the Montezuma County commissioners at their Monday workshop. Region 9, which also includes Dolores, La Plata, Archuleta, and San Juan counties, updates its wage report every two years. The report addresses how much money local people need for basic necessities such as housing, health insurance, food, and clothing. The report says the average annual living expense for a single adult in Montezuma County is about $37,000 compared to more than $47,000 in Archuleta County. Lewis Marchino told the commissioners if a single adult is not making that amount of money, they would need another job or public assistance, or would have to eliminate something very important such as an automobile or health insurance. The report says a livable hourly wage for a family with two working adults and two children ranges from a low of $18.74 per adult in the Town of Dolores to a high of $25.08 in Pagosa Springs. Colorado’s minimum wage is $14.42 an hour. Lewis Marchino told the commissioners, “Darn it, we’re just in tough times.”