In 2023, 1.1 percent of workers in the United States were paid hourly rates at or below the official minimum wage. This is a decrease from the previous year, when 1.3 percent of workers were paid at or below the official minimum wage.
Share of wage and salary workers in the United States paid hourly rates at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage from 1979 to 2023
Characteristic
Share of workers
2023
1.1%
2022
1.3%
2021
1.4%
2020
1.5%
2019
1.9%
2018
2.1%
2017
2.3%
2016
2.7%
2015
3.3%
2014
3.9%
2013
4.3%
2012
4.7%
2011
5.2%
0%2.5%5%7.5%10%12.5%15%17.5%
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The prevailing Federal minimum wage was $2.90 in 1979, $3.10 in 1980, and $3.35 in 1981–89. The minimum wage rose to $3.80 in April 1990, to $4.25 in April 1991, to $4.75 in October 1996, to $5.15 in September 1997, to $5.85 in July 2007, to $6.55 in July 2008, and to $7.25 in July 2009.
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Bureau of Labor Statistics. (August 15, 2024). Share of wage and salary workers in the United States paid hourly rates at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage from 1979 to 2023 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved May 15, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/188206/share-of-workers-paid-hourly-rates-at-or-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/
Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Share of wage and salary workers in the United States paid hourly rates at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage from 1979 to 2023." Chart. August 15, 2024. Statista. Accessed May 15, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/188206/share-of-workers-paid-hourly-rates-at-or-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024). Share of wage and salary workers in the United States paid hourly rates at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage from 1979 to 2023. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: May 15, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/188206/share-of-workers-paid-hourly-rates-at-or-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/
Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Share of Wage and Salary Workers in The United States Paid Hourly Rates at or below The Prevailing Federal Minimum Wage from 1979 to 2023." Statista, Statista Inc., 15 Aug 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/188206/share-of-workers-paid-hourly-rates-at-or-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Share of wage and salary workers in the United States paid hourly rates at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage from 1979 to 2023 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/188206/share-of-workers-paid-hourly-rates-at-or-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/ (last visited May 15, 2025)
Share of wage and salary workers in the United States paid hourly rates at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage from 1979 to 2023 [Graph], Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 15, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/188206/share-of-workers-paid-hourly-rates-at-or-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/
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