Demographic characteristics of Asian or other race/ethnicity 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 Asian workers 13,698 1,827 13.3% 862 6.3% 2,689 19.6% 100.0%
Gender
Women 6,770 1,085 16.0% 499 7.4% 1,584 23.4% 58.9%
Men 6,928 743 10.7% 362 5.2% 1,105 16.0% 41.1%
Age
Age 19 or younger 446 246 55.2% 28 6.3% 274 61.5% 10.2%
Age 20 or older 13,252 1,581 11.9% 834 6.3% 2,415 18.2% 89.8%
Ages 16–24 1,771 756 42.7% 156 8.8% 912 51.5% 33.9%
Ages 25–39 5,333 565 10.6% 330 6.2% 895 16.8% 33.3%
Ages 40–54 4,371 301 6.9% 243 5.6% 544 12.5% 20.2%
Age 55 or older 2,222 205 9.2% 133 6.0% 338 15.2% 12.6%
Family status
Married parent 4,159 282 6.8% 208 5.0% 489 11.8% 18.2%
Single parent 881 189 21.5% 91 10.3% 281 31.9% 10.4%
Married, no children 3,442 275 8.0% 190 5.5% 464 13.5% 17.3%
Unmarried, no children 5,217 1,081 20.7% 373 7.2% 1,455 27.9% 54.1%
Educational attainment
Less than high school 1,180 406 34.4% 126 10.7% 533 45.2% 19.8%
High school 2,312 593 25.7% 273 11.8% 867 37.5% 32.2%
Some college, no degree 2,544 566 22.3% 236 9.3% 803 31.6% 29.8%
Associate degree 1,046 124 11.9% 78 7.4% 202 19.3% 7.5%
Bachelor’s degree or higher 6,615 137 2.1% 148 2.2% 285 4.3% 10.6%
Family income
Less than $25,000 1,689 636 37.6% 187 11.1% 823 48.7% 30.6%
$25,000–$49,999 2,298 423 18.4% 254 11.0% 677 29.5% 25.2%
$50,000–$74,999 2,201 280 12.7% 157 7.1% 437 19.9% 16.3%
$75,000–$99,999 1,831 173 9.5% 101 5.5% 274 15.0% 10.2%
$100,000–$149,999 2,593 189 7.3% 99 3.8% 288 11.1% 10.7%
$150,000 or more 3,086 127 4.1% 63 2.1% 190 6.2% 7.1%
Family income-to-poverty ratio
At or below the poverty line 935 395 42.2% 92 9.9% 487 52.1% 18.1%
101–200% of poverty line 1,783 506 28.4% 230 12.9% 736 41.3% 27.4%
201–400% of poverty line 3,789 540 14.2% 331 8.7% 871 23.0% 32.4%
401% or above 7,072 335 4.7% 200 2.8% 535 7.6% 19.9%
Poverty status not available 118 52 44.3% 8 6.5% 60 50.8% 2.2%
Work hours
Part time (<20 hours) 844 263 31.2% 64 7.6% 327 38.8% 12.2%
Mid time (20– 34 hours) 1,955 600 30.7% 185 9.5% 785 40.2% 29.2%
Full time (35+ hours) 10,899 964 8.8% 612 5.6% 1,576 14.5% 58.6%
Industry
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting 98 16 16.6% 6 6.1% 22 22.7% 0.8%
Construction 348 30 8.7% 20 5.7% 50 14.4% 1.9%
Manufacturing 1,555 128 8.2% 81 5.2% 209 13.5% 7.8%
Wholesale trade 328 30 9.2% 15 4.7% 45 13.8% 1.7%
Retail trade 1,492 392 26.3% 117 7.8% 509 34.1% 18.9%
Transportation, warehousing, utilities 579 40 7.0% 26 4.5% 66 11.4% 2.5%
Information 352 17 4.9% 8 2.2% 25 7.1% 0.9%
Finance, insurance, real estate 930 33 3.6% 25 2.7% 59 6.3% 2.2%
Professional, scientific, management, technical services 1,419 25 1.7% 14 1.0% 38 2.7% 1.4%
Administrative, support, and waste management 370 71 19.1% 28 7.5% 98 26.6% 3.7%
Education 1,202 123 10.2% 49 4.1% 172 14.3% 6.4%
Health care 2,186 216 9.9% 101 4.6% 317 14.5% 11.8%
Arts, entertainment, recreational services 300 79 26.3% 42 14.1% 121 40.3% 4.5%
Accommodation 235 63 26.7% 37 15.6% 99 42.3% 3.7%
Restaurants and food service 1,057 400 37.8% 152 14.4% 551 52.2% 20.5%
Other services 617 140 22.8% 124 20.1% 265 42.9% 9.8%
Public administration 628 23 3.7% 18 2.8% 41 6.5% 1.5%
Sector
For-profit 10,571 1,577 14.9% 737 7.0% 2,314 21.9% 86.0%
Government 1,955 146 7.5% 72 3.7% 218 11.2% 8.1%
Nonprofit 1,172 105 9.0% 52 4.4% 157 13.4% 5.8%

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.