Demographic characteristics of women of color workers affected by increasing the federal minimum wage by $15 by 2024

Group Total estimated workforce (thousands) Directly affected (thousands) Share directly affected Indirectly affected (thousands) Share indirectly affected Total affected (thousands) Share of group who are affected Group’s share of total affected
All women of color workers 29,027 7,792 26.8% 2,554 8.8% 10,346 35.6% 100.0%
Age
Age 19 or younger 1,137 663 58.3% 64 5.6% 726 63.9% 7.0%
Age 20 or older 27,891 7,129 25.6% 2,490 8.9% 9,620 34.5% 93.0%
Ages 16–24 4,551 2,378 52.3% 372 8.2% 2,750 60.4% 26.6%
Ages 25–39 10,739 2,712 25.3% 1,010 9.4% 3,723 34.7% 36.0%
Ages 40–54 9,249 1,744 18.9% 794 8.6% 2,538 27.4% 24.5%
Age 55 or older 4,488 957 21.3% 378 8.4% 1,336 29.8% 12.9%
Family status
Married parent 6,408 1,256 19.6% 527 8.2% 1,783 27.8% 17.2%
Single parent 5,557 1,922 34.6% 583 10.5% 2,505 45.1% 24.2%
Married, no children 5,336 984 18.4% 444 8.3% 1,427 26.7% 13.8%
Unmarried, no children 11,727 3,630 31.0% 1,000 8.5% 4,631 39.5% 44.8%
Educational attainment
Less than high school 3,918 1,869 47.7% 336 8.6% 2,205 56.3% 21.3%
High school 6,873 2,709 39.4% 841 12.2% 3,551 51.7% 34.3%
Some college, no degree 7,362 2,353 32.0% 815 11.1% 3,167 43.0% 30.6%
Associate degree 2,640 512 19.4% 263 10.0% 776 29.4% 7.5%
Bachelor’s degree or higher 8,234 349 4.2% 298 3.6% 647 7.9% 6.3%
Family income
Less than $25,000 5,463 3,026 55.4% 520 9.5% 3,546 64.9% 34.3%
$25,000–$49,999 7,063 2,158 30.6% 896 12.7% 3,054 43.2% 29.5%
$50,000–$74,999 5,386 1,218 22.6% 508 9.4% 1,725 32.0% 16.7%
$75,000–$99,999 3,734 629 16.9% 294 7.9% 924 24.7% 8.9%
$100,000–$149,999 4,124 523 12.7% 231 5.6% 754 18.3% 7.3%
$150,000 or more 3,257 238 7.3% 105 3.2% 343 10.5% 3.3%
Family income-to-poverty ratio
At or below the poverty line 3,318 1,969 59.3% 253 7.6% 2,221 67.0% 21.5%
101–200% of poverty line 6,055 2,660 43.9% 783 12.9% 3,443 56.9% 33.3%
201–400% of poverty line 9,696 2,214 22.8% 1,069 11.0% 3,283 33.9% 31.7%
401% or above 9,753 845 8.7% 437 4.5% 1,282 13.1% 12.4%
Poverty status not available 206 105 51.1% 11 5.5% 117 56.6% 1.1%
Work hours
Part time (<20 hours) 1,930 703 36.4% 150 7.8% 853 44.2% 8.2%
Mid time (20– 34 hours) 5,654 2,469 43.7% 513 9.1% 2,982 52.7% 28.8%
Full time (35+ hours) 21,443 4,620 21.5% 1,892 8.8% 6,511 30.4% 62.9%
Industry
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting 255 65 25.4% 20 8.0% 85 33.4% 0.8%
Construction 246 46 18.6% 20 8.1% 66 26.7% 0.6%
Manufacturing 2,097 572 27.3% 221 10.6% 793 37.8% 7.7%
Wholesale trade 474 110 23.1% 37 7.8% 147 30.9% 1.4%
Retail trade 3,494 1,486 42.5% 316 9.1% 1,802 51.6% 17.4%
Transportation, warehousing, utilities 913 161 17.6% 82 9.0% 243 26.6% 2.3%
Information 479 67 13.9% 30 6.2% 96 20.1% 0.9%
Finance, insurance, real estate 1,913 210 11.0% 125 6.5% 335 17.5% 3.2%
Professional, scientific, management, technical services 1,337 98 7.3% 56 4.2% 153 11.5% 1.5%
Administrative, support, and waste management 1,288 496 38.5% 123 9.5% 619 48.1% 6.0%
Education 3,165 525 16.6% 195 6.2% 720 22.7% 7.0%
Health care 6,999 1,666 23.8% 575 8.2% 2,241 32.0% 21.7%
Arts, entertainment, recreational services 510 184 36.1% 66 12.9% 250 49.0% 2.4%
Accommodation 625 300 48.1% 73 11.7% 373 59.8% 3.6%
Restaurants and food service 2,525 1,283 50.8% 329 13.0% 1,611 63.8% 15.6%
Other services 1,241 418 33.7% 217 17.5% 635 51.2% 6.1%
Public administration 1,464 106 7.2% 70 4.8% 176 12.0% 1.7%
Sector
For-profit 21,450 6,651 31.0% 2,079 9.7% 8,730 40.7% 84.4%
Government 4,887 660 13.5% 285 5.8% 945 19.3% 9.1%
Nonprofit 2,690 481 17.9% 190 7.1% 671 24.9% 6.5%

Notes: Values reflect the population likely to be affected by the proposed change in the federal minimum wage. Wage changes resulting from scheduled state and local minimum wage laws are accounted for by EPI’s Minimum Wage Simulation Model. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Shares calculated from unrounded values. 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: Economic Policy Institute Minimum Wage Simulation Model using data from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Congressional Budget Office. See Cooper, Mokhiber, and Zipperer 2019. Dollar values adjusted by projections for CPI-U in CBO 2018.

View the underlying data on epi.org.