Since it was first instituted in 1938, the federal minimum wage has established a floor for wages. While not every worker is eligible, it provides a minimum of earnings for the lowest-paid workers.
What are full-time annual earnings at the current minimum wage?
In 2024, about 82,000 U.S. workers age 16 and over earned exactly
the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Another
760,000 had wages below the federal minimum. Together these
workers make up 1.0% of all hourly paid workers.
The proportion of hourly workers paid minimum wage or less is far
below the level of 13% in 1979 when data was first collected on a
regular basis and somewhat lower than recent years.
What were the characteristics of hourly workers paid at or below
minimum wage in 2024?
