Figure A
Real and nominal value of the federal minimum wage, projected value under the Raise the Wage Act of 2019, and if it rose with total economy productivity, 1938–2018 and 2019–2024 (projected)
| Real federal minimum wage (2018$) | Projected under The Raise the Wage Act of 2019* | At the pace of productivity growth | Projected Net Productivity | Nominal minimum wage | Projected nominal minimum wage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | $ 3.81 | $0.25 | ||||
| 1939 | $ 4.64 | $0.30 | ||||
| 1940 | $ 4.60 | $0.30 | ||||
| 1941 | $ 4.38 | $0.30 | ||||
| 1942 | $ 3.95 | $0.30 | ||||
| 1943 | $ 3.72 | $0.30 | ||||
| 1944 | $ 3.66 | $0.30 | ||||
| 1945 | $ 4.77 | $0.40 | ||||
| 1946 | $ 4.41 | $0.40 | ||||
| 1947 | $ 3.85 | $0.40 | ||||
| 1948 | $ 3.56 | $ 5.76 | $0.40 | |||
| 1949 | $ 3.61 | $ 5.80 | $0.40 | |||
| 1950 | $ 6.68 | $ 6.26 | $0.75 | |||
| 1951 | $ 6.19 | $ 6.39 | $0.75 | |||
| 1952 | $ 6.08 | $ 6.60 | $0.75 | |||
| 1953 | $ 6.03 | $ 6.80 | $0.75 | |||
| 1954 | $ 5.99 | $ 6.93 | $0.75 | |||
| 1955 | $ 6.01 | $ 7.23 | $0.75 | |||
| 1956 | $ 7.90 | $ 7.32 | $1.00 | |||
| 1957 | $ 7.64 | $ 7.49 | $1.00 | |||
| 1958 | $ 7.43 | $ 7.62 | $1.00 | |||
| 1959 | $ 7.38 | $ 7.91 | $1.00 | |||
| 1960 | $ 7.26 | $ 8.08 | $1.00 | |||
| 1961 | $ 8.26 | $ 8.32 | $1.15 | |||
| 1962 | $ 8.18 | $ 8.61 | $1.15 | |||
| 1963 | $ 8.77 | $ 8.94 | $1.25 | |||
| 1964 | $ 8.66 | $ 9.20 | $1.25 | |||
| 1965 | $ 8.52 | $ 9.47 | $1.25 | |||
| 1966 | $ 8.29 | $ 9.71 | $1.25 | |||
| 1967 | $ 9.00 | $ 9.85 | $1.40 | |||
| 1968 | $ 10.15 | $10.15 | $1.60 | |||
| 1969 | $ 9.71 | $ 10.21 | $1.60 | |||
| 1970 | $ 9.26 | $ 10.31 | $1.60 | |||
| 1971 | $ 8.88 | $ 10.66 | $1.60 | |||
| 1972 | $ 8.62 | $ 10.97 | $1.60 | |||
| 1973 | $ 8.11 | $ 11.26 | $1.60 | |||
| 1974 | $ 9.21 | $ 11.08 | $2.00 | |||
| 1975 | $ 8.94 | $ 11.28 | $2.10 | |||
| 1976 | $ 9.26 | $ 11.55 | $2.30 | |||
| 1977 | $ 8.70 | $ 11.71 | $2.30 | |||
| 1978 | $ 9.39 | $ 11.80 | $2.65 | |||
| 1979 | $ 9.38 | $ 11.72 | $2.90 | |||
| 1980 | $ 9.02 | $ 11.65 | $3.10 | |||
| 1981 | $ 8.91 | $ 11.95 | $3.35 | |||
| 1982 | $ 8.40 | $ 11.91 | $3.35 | |||
| 1983 | $ 8.06 | $ 12.08 | $3.35 | |||
| 1984 | $ 7.73 | $ 12.47 | $3.35 | |||
| 1985 | $ 7.48 | $ 12.65 | $3.35 | |||
| 1986 | $ 7.35 | $ 12.83 | $3.35 | |||
| 1987 | $ 7.10 | $ 13.03 | $3.35 | |||
| 1988 | $ 6.86 | $ 13.31 | $3.35 | |||
| 1989 | $ 6.57 | $ 13.24 | $3.35 | |||
| 1990 | $ 7.10 | $ 13.37 | $3.80 | |||
| 1991 | $ 7.66 | $ 13.47 | $4.25 | |||
| 1992 | $ 7.48 | $ 13.93 | $4.25 | |||
| 1993 | $ 7.29 | $ 13.90 | $4.25 | |||
| 1994 | $ 7.14 | $ 14.07 | $4.25 | |||
| 1995 | $ 6.98 | $ 14.25 | $4.25 | |||
| 1996 | $ 7.60 | $ 14.61 | $4.75 | |||
| 1997 | $ 8.06 | $ 14.95 | $5.15 | |||
| 1998 | $ 7.95 | $ 15.40 | $5.15 | |||
| 1999 | $ 7.79 | $ 15.76 | $5.15 | |||
| 2000 | $ 7.53 | $ 16.21 | $5.15 | |||
| 2001 | $ 7.32 | $ 16.49 | $5.15 | |||
| 2002 | $ 7.21 | $ 16.87 | $5.15 | |||
| 2003 | $ 7.05 | $ 17.31 | $5.15 | |||
| 2004 | $ 6.86 | $ 17.78 | $5.15 | |||
| 2005 | $ 6.64 | $ 18.15 | $5.15 | |||
| 2006 | $ 6.43 | $ 18.48 | $5.15 | |||
| 2007 | $ 7.10 | $ 18.25 | $5.85 | |||
| 2008 | $ 7.66 | $ 18.04 | $6.55 | |||
| 2009 | $ 8.51 | $ 18.39 | $7.25 | |||
| 2010 | $ 8.37 | $ 19.12 | $7.25 | |||
| 2011 | $ 8.11 | $ 19.30 | $7.25 | |||
| 2012 | $ 7.94 | $ 19.64 | $7.25 | |||
| 2013 | $ 7.83 | $ 19.56 | $7.25 | |||
| 2014 | $ 7.70 | $ 19.86 | $7.25 | |||
| 2015 | $ 7.69 | $ 19.94 | $7.25 | |||
| 2016 | $ 7.59 | $ 19.77 | $7.25 | |||
| 2017 | $ 7.43 | $ 19.93 | $7.25 | |||
| 2018 | $ 7.25 | $ 7.25 | $ 20.34 | $ 20.34 | $7.25 | $7.25 |
| 2019 | $ 8.35 | $ 20.63 | $8.55 | |||
| 2020 | $ 9.39 | $ 20.94 | $9.85 | |||
| 2021 | $ 10.37 | $ 21.25 | $11.15 | |||
| 2022 | $ 11.30 | $ 21.57 | $12.45 | |||
| 2023 | $ 12.18 | $ 21.88 | $13.75 | |||
| 2024 | $12.98 | $22.19 | $15.00 |
Source: The productivity series is total economy productivity net depreciation, indexed to the 1968 real value of the minimum wage. Real minimum wage values are in 2018 dollars deflated by the CPI-U-RS (1978-2017), chained to the CPI-U-X1 (1967-1977) and CPI-U (1938-1966). Projections for productivity growth and inflation use Congressional Budget Office, An Update to the Economic Outlook: 2018 to 2028, “10-Year Economic Projections” (Excel file supplement), August 2018.
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