Demographic characteristics of workers affected by increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024
| Group | Total estimated workforce | Directly affected | Share directly affected | Indirectly affected | Share indirectly affected | Total affected | Share of group who are affected | Group’s share of total affected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All workers | 142,168,000 | 22,484,000 | 15.8% | 18,983,000 | 13.4% | 41,466,000 | 29.2% | 100.0% |
| Gender | ||||||||
| Women | 68,237,000 | 12,710,000 | 18.6% | 10,348,000 | 15.2% | 23,058,000 | 33.8% | 55.6% |
| Men | 73,932,000 | 9,774,000 | 13.2% | 8,634,000 | 11.7% | 18,408,000 | 24.9% | 44.4% |
| Age | ||||||||
| Age 20 or older | 137,069,000 | 19,503,000 | 14.2% | 17,917,000 | 13.1% | 37,420,000 | 27.3% | 90.2% |
| Teenager | 5,099,000 | 2,980,000 | 58.4% | 1,066,000 | 20.9% | 4,047,000 | 79.4% | 9.8% |
| 16 to 24 | 19,579,000 | 7,871,000 | 40.2% | 4,512,000 | 23.0% | 12,383,000 | 63.2% | 29.9% |
| 25 to 39 | 48,992,000 | 6,570,000 | 13.4% | 6,833,000 | 13.9% | 13,403,000 | 27.4% | 32.3% |
| 40 to 54 | 44,505,000 | 4,514,000 | 10.1% | 4,506,000 | 10.1% | 9,021,000 | 20.3% | 21.8% |
| 55+ | 29,092,000 | 3,528,000 | 12.1% | 3,132,000 | 10.8% | 6,660,000 | 22.9% | 16.1% |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||||
| White | 83,502,000 | 11,508,000 | 13.8% | 10,657,000 | 12.8% | 22,165,000 | 26.5% | 53.5% |
| Black | 17,281,000 | 4,423,000 | 25.6% | 2,510,000 | 14.5% | 6,933,000 | 40.1% | 16.7% |
| Hispanic | 28,076,000 | 5,105,000 | 18.2% | 4,288,000 | 15.3% | 9,393,000 | 33.5% | 22.7% |
| Asian | 10,074,000 | 812,000 | 8.1% | 925,000 | 9.2% | 1,737,000 | 17.2% | 4.2% |
| Other race/ethnicity | 3,235,000 | 636,000 | 19.7% | 603,000 | 18.6% | 1,239,000 | 38.3% | 3.0% |
| Family status | ||||||||
| Married parent | 36,837,000 | 3,461,000 | 9.4% | 3,671,000 | 10.0% | 7,133,000 | 19.4% | 17.2% |
| Single parent | 11,014,000 | 2,456,000 | 22.3% | 2,043,000 | 18.5% | 4,499,000 | 40.8% | 10.8% |
| Married, no children | 38,391,000 | 4,118,000 | 10.7% | 4,041,000 | 10.5% | 8,160,000 | 21.3% | 19.7% |
| Unmarried, no children | 55,926,000 | 12,447,000 | 22.3% | 9,228,000 | 16.5% | 21,675,000 | 38.8% | 52.3% |
| Family income | ||||||||
| Less than $10,000 | 4,577,000 | 1,684,000 | 36.8% | 855,000 | 18.7% | 2,540,000 | 55.5% | 6.1% |
| $10,000 – $14,999 | 4,268,000 | 1,509,000 | 35.4% | 842,000 | 19.7% | 2,351,000 | 55.1% | 5.7% |
| $15,000 – $24,999 | 9,535,000 | 3,027,000 | 31.7% | 2,216,000 | 23.2% | 5,243,000 | 55.0% | 12.6% |
| $25,000 – $34,999 | 13,693,000 | 3,237,000 | 23.6% | 2,943,000 | 21.5% | 6,180,000 | 45.1% | 14.9% |
| $35,000 – $49,999 | 18,761,000 | 3,488,000 | 18.6% | 3,070,000 | 16.4% | 6,558,000 | 35.0% | 15.8% |
| $50,000 – $74,999 | 28,745,000 | 3,984,000 | 13.9% | 3,981,000 | 13.9% | 7,966,000 | 27.7% | 19.2% |
| $75,000 – $99,999 | 20,516,000 | 2,237,000 | 10.9% | 2,156,000 | 10.5% | 4,393,000 | 21.4% | 10.6% |
| $100,000 – $149,999 | 22,975,000 | 2,007,000 | 8.7% | 1,806,000 | 7.9% | 3,813,000 | 16.6% | 9.2% |
| $150,000 or more | 19,099,000 | 1,310,000 | 6.9% | 1,112,000 | 5.8% | 2,422,000 | 12.7% | 5.8% |
| Industry | ||||||||
| Construction | 8,329,000 | 879,000 | 10.6% | 847,000 | 10.2% | 1,726,000 | 20.7% | 4.2% |
| Manufacturing | 15,517,000 | 1,771,000 | 11.4% | 1,765,000 | 11.4% | 3,536,000 | 22.8% | 8.5% |
| Retail trade | 16,013,000 | 4,847,000 | 30.3% | 2,687,000 | 16.8% | 7,534,000 | 47.0% | 18.2% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 1,470,000 | 323,000 | 22.0% | 303,000 | 20.6% | 626,000 | 42.6% | 1.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 3,434,000 | 363,000 | 10.6% | 341,000 | 9.9% | 705,000 | 20.5% | 1.7% |
| Transportation and utilities | 7,673,000 | 787,000 | 10.3% | 826,000 | 10.8% | 1,613,000 | 21.0% | 3.9% |
| Information | 2,705,000 | 254,000 | 9.4% | 209,000 | 7.7% | 462,000 | 17.1% | 1.1% |
| Financial activities | 9,500,000 | 690,000 | 7.3% | 839,000 | 8.8% | 1,529,000 | 16.1% | 3.7% |
| Administrative and waste management services | 5,949,000 | 1,432,000 | 24.1% | 959,000 | 16.1% | 2,391,000 | 40.2% | 5.8% |
| Professional, science, management consulting | 9,479,000 | 446,000 | 4.7% | 453,000 | 4.8% | 899,000 | 9.5% | 2.2% |
| Education | 13,800,000 | 1,606,000 | 11.6% | 1,221,000 | 8.8% | 2,826,000 | 20.5% | 6.8% |
| Health care | 17,094,000 | 2,288,000 | 13.4% | 2,071,000 | 12.1% | 4,359,000 | 25.5% | 10.5% |
| Social assistance | 3,019,000 | 723,000 | 24.0% | 451,000 | 14.9% | 1,174,000 | 38.9% | 2.8% |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation | 4,436,000 | 1,171,000 | 26.4% | 877,000 | 19.8% | 2,048,000 | 46.2% | 4.9% |
| Food and drink service | 9,569,000 | 3,289,000 | 34.4% | 3,197,000 | 33.4% | 6,487,000 | 67.8% | 15.6% |
| Public administration | 7,106,000 | 450,000 | 6.3% | 567,000 | 8.0% | 1,018,000 | 14.3% | 2.5% |
| Mining | 787,000 | 40,000 | 5.1% | 44,000 | 5.7% | 84,000 | 10.7% | 0.2% |
| Other industries | 6,290,000 | 1,123,000 | 17.9% | 1,326,000 | 21.1% | 2,450,000 | 38.9% | 5.9% |
| Work hours | ||||||||
| Part time (< 20 hours) | 7,603,000 | 3,124,000 | 41.1% | 1,444,000 | 19.0% | 4,568,000 | 60.1% | 11.0% |
| Mid time (20–34 hours) | 19,300,000 | 6,894,000 | 35.7% | 3,901,000 | 20.2% | 10,795,000 | 55.9% | 26.0% |
| Full time (35+ hours) | 115,265,000 | 12,466,000 | 10.8% | 13,638,000 | 11.8% | 26,103,000 | 22.6% | 63.0% |
| Education | ||||||||
| Less than high school | 13,026,000 | 4,798,000 | 36.8% | 2,524,000 | 19.4% | 7,322,000 | 56.2% | 17.7% |
| High school | 37,508,000 | 7,919,000 | 21.1% | 6,910,000 | 18.4% | 14,830,000 | 39.5% | 35.8% |
| Some college, no degree | 26,330,000 | 5,392,000 | 20.5% | 4,538,000 | 17.2% | 9,930,000 | 37.7% | 23.9% |
| Associate degree | 14,962,000 | 1,978,000 | 13.2% | 2,147,000 | 14.3% | 4,125,000 | 27.6% | 9.9% |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 50,342,000 | 2,397,000 | 4.8% | 2,863,000 | 5.7% | 5,260,000 | 10.4% | 12.7% |
| Children | ||||||||
| Children with at least one affected parent | 79,419,000 | 9,817,000 | – | 9,221,000 | – | 19,038,000 | 24.0% | – |
Notes: The total workforce is estimated from the CPS respondents who were 16 years old or older, employed, but not self-employed, and for whom a valid hourly wage is either reported or can be determined from weekly earnings and usual weekly hours. Directly affected workers will see their wages rise as the new minimum wage rate will exceed their current hourly pay. Indirectly affected workers have a wage rate just above the new minimum wage (between the new minimum wage and 115 percent of the new minimum). They will receive a raise as employer pay scales are adjusted upward to reflect the new minimum wage.
Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata, 2016