Federal minimum wage as a share of state-group median wages, 1968, 1979, 2013, and 2020 (projected)
| ME,MA,NH,RI,VT | MI,WI | IA,MN | ND,NE,KS,SD | NC,SC | DE,VA | AL,MS | AR,OK | AZ,CO,NM | ID,MT,NV,UT,WY | AK,HI,WA | CA | CT | FL | GA | IL | IN | KY | LA | MD | MO | NJ | NY | OH | OR | PA | TN | TX | WV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 52.3% | 47.7 | 51.2 | 57.7 | 66.2 | 54.9 | 64.5 | 62.0 | 55.4 | 53.6 | 46.0 | 44.1 | 60.7 | 61.1 | 66.0 | 48.4 | 52.1 | 61.4 | 60.6 | 48.7 | 52.4 | 49.7 | 49.3 | 50.3 | 48.1 | 53.3 | 66.7 | 58.7 | 53.3% |
| 1979 | 47.2% | 40.5 | 46.3 | 51.2 | 57.5 | 47.4 | 54.7 | 54.4 | 43.6 | 45.8 | 40.2 | 42.1 | 44.3 | 54.7 | 49.9 | 41.2 | 44.0 | 47.5 | 50.0 | 41.6 | 49.8 | 42.2 | 44.2 | 43.0 | 41.8 | 43.1 | 52.0 | 47.7 | 49.7% |
| 2013 | 36.0% | 39.8 | 39.9 | 44.6 | 46.2 | 38.0 | 45.3 | 46.2 | 40.7 | 42.8 | 37.9 | 38.1 | 33.2 | 42.7 | 39.6 | 39.3 | 42.0 | 43.1 | 44.0 | 34.8 | 42.2 | 35.7 | 38.3 | 42.2 | 40.5 | 39.6 | 43.2 | 45.3 | 46.4% |
| 2020 | 51.7% | 57.1 | 57.3 | 64.0 | 66.4 | 54.6 | 65.1 | 66.4 | 58.4 | 61.4 | 54.4 | 54.8 | 47.6 | 61.3 | 56.8 | 56.4 | 60.4 | 61.9 | 63.2 | 50.0 | 60.6 | 51.3 | 55.0 | 60.5 | 58.1 | 56.8 | 62.1 | 65.0 | 66.7% |
Note: The CPS does not report separate data for all 50 states for 1968; data are organized into 30 state groups available consistently from 1968 to the present. Projections for 2020 assume a $12 minimum wage that year. Darker points represent the middle 50 percent of the distribution of state-group median wages (i.e., the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile). See data appendix for methodology.
Source: Authors' analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement microdata, various years