Can the NCR minimum wage cover a family of five's basic basket?

No. At ₱610/day × 22 working days = ₱13,420/month, the FNRI-adequate basket for a family of five exceeds gross income before rent — the money typically runs out before the month does.

Cost of living · NCR

₱610 a day. Now stretch it across the whole month.

The National Capital Region minimum wage, multiplied by 22 working days, against the actual basket a family eats and burns through. Drag the wage and the family size — and watch which day the money runs out.

Monthly income · 22 days

₱13,420

₱610/day × 22

Basket total · 30 days

₱13,471

11 items · family of 5

Shortfall at month end

− ₱51

Days the money lastsDay 30 of 30

runs out

Income covers the basket through Day 30 of 30.

Where it goes — item by itemmonthly ₱

Total basket

₱13,471

Daily wage₱610

DOLE Wage Order NCR-25 set the NCR floor at ₱610/day (2024). Region IV-A and Region V sit far below it.

Family size5 people

Food, utilities, and water scale with people; jeepney, mobile plan, and tuition stay flat.

Bottom line

₱51 short

Gross income falls below the basket — before a single peso of rent.

How to use

Drag daily wage and family size. Every basket item recalculates live: food, utilities, and water scale with headcount; jeepney fare, the mobile plan, and tuition are flat. The month bar turns income into days — the red line marks where the money runs out.

What the basket assumes

FNRI 2023 "decent meal" calorie targets × 30 days × family size. Bigas at ₱50/kilo, ulam at ₱150/day for 5 people, jeepney at ₱13 base × 2 trips × 22 days. PLDT/Smart family plan. Meralco at typical TIDP rate. Tuition is one public-school child.

What's not in: medical, clothing beyond bare minimum, savings, emergencies, internet for 5, occasional new shoes.

The decent-meal gap

FNRI says minimum nutritional adequacy for a family of 5 in NCR = ₱13,650/month food alone. Min-wage worker grosses ₱13,420 — and that's before rent, utilities, transport.

Reality: most NCR min-wage families have 2 earners, share housing, eat less protein than required, and accumulate sari-sari store debt by week 3.

Why 22 days, not 30

The minimum wage is a daily rate, paid only for days worked. A standard month is about 22 working days — weekends and rest days aren't paid. So income is wage × 22, while the basket still has to cover all 30 days. That gap between earning days and living days is the whole problem.

Citations

DOLE-NCR Wage Order NCR-25 (2024) — NCR daily minimum wage adjustments.
FNRI-DOST (2023) — Philippine Dietary Reference Intakes (PDRI).
PSA FIES 2021 — Family Income & Expenditure Survey, household consumption basket.
NEDA AmBisyon Natin 2040 — minimum decent-family budget threshold.
BSP Consumer Price Index — monthly retail prices for rice, oil, fish, vegetables.

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