SAN DIEGO -- The cost of living in San Diego County far exceeds the wages in the region, according to a study released Friday by a local think tank.

Titled "Making Ends Meet," the report prepared by the Center on Policy Initiatives looks at the local costs for things like housing, food, transportation, child care and health coverage.

The center found that a single adult needs to earn $13.71 an hour, or $28,510 a year, to get by without assistance. Two working parents with two children would each need to make at least $17.16 an hour.

While costs keep rising, the local economy is creating more low-paying jobs, and the average wages for those jobs are declining, according to CPI.

According to the San Diego Association of Governments, the median wage for the lowest-paying third of all jobs in the region dropped by more than $500, to $24,547 a year, between 2000 and 2004.

Full-time workers being paid California's minimum wage of $8 an hour earn $16,640 a year, according to CPI.

"People working full-time should earn enough to support themselves and their families," said CPI's Murtaza Baxamusa. "As we add tourism and retail jobs in this county and lose good, middle-class jobs with health coverage, workers are left with wages that can't cover their basic expenses."

The report was produced using data provided by the California Budget Project, according to CPI.