Demographic characteristics of Hispanic 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 Hispanic workers 28,702 6,984 24.3% 2,598 9.1% 9,583 33.4% 100.0%
Gender
Women 12,599 3,664 29.1% 1,137 9.0% 4,801 38.1% 50.1%
Men 16,103 3,321 20.6% 1,461 9.1% 4,782 29.7% 49.9%
Age
Age 19 or younger 1,199 655 54.6% 73 6.1% 728 60.7% 7.6%
Age 20 or older 27,503 6,330 23.0% 2,525 9.2% 8,855 32.2% 92.4%
Ages 16–24 4,893 2,286 46.7% 427 8.7% 2,713 55.4% 28.3%
Ages 25–39 11,412 2,632 23.1% 1,139 10.0% 3,771 33.0% 39.3%
Ages 40–54 8,881 1,419 16.0% 745 8.4% 2,165 24.4% 22.6%
Age 55 or older 3,516 648 18.4% 287 8.2% 935 26.6% 9.8%
Family status
Married parent 8,163 1,403 17.2% 719 8.8% 2,122 26.0% 22.1%
Single parent 3,861 1,158 30.0% 393 10.2% 1,551 40.2% 16.2%
Married, no children 5,178 924 17.8% 441 8.5% 1,365 26.4% 14.2%
Unmarried, no children 11,501 3,500 30.4% 1,046 9.1% 4,545 39.5% 47.4%
Educational attainment
Less than high school 7,643 2,745 35.9% 773 10.1% 3,518 46.0% 36.7%
High school 8,192 2,240 27.3% 895 10.9% 3,135 38.3% 32.7%
Some college, no degree 6,378 1,515 23.7% 596 9.3% 2,111 33.1% 22.0%
Associate degree 1,952 305 15.6% 170 8.7% 475 24.3% 5.0%
Bachelor’s degree or higher 4,538 180 4.0% 164 3.6% 344 7.6% 3.6%
Family income
Less than $25,000 5,378 2,540 47.2% 545 10.1% 3,085 57.4% 32.2%
$25,000–$49,999 7,610 2,020 26.5% 953 12.5% 2,973 39.1% 31.0%
$50,000–$74,999 5,735 1,154 20.1% 513 8.9% 1,667 29.1% 17.4%
$75,000–$99,999 3,837 605 15.8% 284 7.4% 888 23.2% 9.3%
$100,000–$149,999 3,864 472 12.2% 219 5.7% 691 17.9% 7.2%
$150,000 or more 2,278 193 8.5% 85 3.7% 278 12.2% 2.9%
Family income-to-poverty ratio
At or below the poverty line 3,153 1,579 50.1% 275 8.7% 1,854 58.8% 19.3%
101–200% of poverty line 7,130 2,570 36.0% 864 12.1% 3,434 48.2% 35.8%
201–400% of poverty line 10,651 2,114 19.8% 1,102 10.4% 3,216 30.2% 33.6%
401% or above 7,660 672 8.8% 351 4.6% 1,024 13.4% 10.7%
Poverty status not available 108 49 45.8% 6 5.4% 55 51.1% 0.6%
Work hours
Part time (<20 hours) 1,319 453 34.3% 92 7.0% 545 41.3% 5.7%
Mid time (20– 34 hours) 4,462 1,821 40.8% 370 8.3% 2,191 49.1% 22.9%
Full time (35+ hours) 22,922 4,711 20.6% 2,136 9.3% 6,847 29.9% 71.5%
Industry
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting 986 256 26.0% 86 8.7% 342 34.7% 3.6%
Construction 2,795 527 18.9% 307 11.0% 833 29.8% 8.7%
Manufacturing 3,097 626 20.2% 308 9.9% 935 30.2% 9.8%
Wholesale trade 857 174 20.3% 76 8.8% 250 29.2% 2.6%
Retail trade 3,386 1,144 33.8% 287 8.5% 1,432 42.3% 14.9%
Transportation, warehousing, utilities 1,482 197 13.3% 112 7.6% 309 20.9% 3.2%
Information 424 51 12.1% 23 5.4% 74 17.5% 0.8%
Finance, insurance, real estate 1,401 172 12.3% 95 6.8% 268 19.1% 2.8%
Professional, scientific, management, technical services 985 79 8.0% 45 4.6% 124 12.6% 1.3%
Administrative, support, and waste management 1,866 623 33.4% 183 9.8% 806 43.2% 8.4%
Education 1,938 318 16.4% 118 6.1% 436 22.5% 4.5%
Health care 3,178 709 22.3% 247 7.8% 956 30.1% 10.0%
Arts, entertainment, recreational services 517 170 32.8% 55 10.7% 225 43.5% 2.3%
Accommodation 559 227 40.6% 71 12.7% 298 53.3% 3.1%
Restaurants and food service 2,947 1,279 43.4% 394 13.4% 1,673 56.8% 17.5%
Other services 1,252 372 29.7% 150 12.0% 522 41.7% 5.5%
Public administration 1,031 59 5.7% 40 3.9% 100 9.7% 1.0%
Sector
For-profit 23,991 6,342 26.4% 2,321 9.7% 8,663 36.1% 90.4%
Government 3,124 363 11.6% 161 5.1% 524 16.8% 5.5%
Nonprofit 1,586 279 17.6% 116 7.3% 396 24.9% 4.1%

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.