The gap between the minimum wage and the median wage has grown substantially—the Raise the Wage Act would narrow the gap: Real values of the federal minimum wage and the full-time, full-year median wage, 1968–2018; projected values for 2019–2024 under the Raise the Wage Act; and dollar amount of the gap between the minimum and the median, selected years (2018$)
| Year | Real median wage | Real median, projected at 0.5% real growth (2018$) | Real federal minimum wage | Real federal minimum wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | $19.23 | $10.15 | ||
| 1969 | $19.85 | $9.71 | ||
| 1970 | $20.10 | $9.26 | ||
| 1971 | $20.01 | $8.88 | ||
| 1972 | $20.47 | $8.62 | ||
| 1973 | $20.93 | $8.11 | ||
| 1974 | $20.67 | $9.21 | ||
| 1975 | $20.38 | $8.94 | ||
| 1976 | $20.65 | $9.26 | ||
| 1977 | $20.51 | $8.70 | ||
| 1978 | $20.51 | $9.39 | ||
| 1979 | $20.52 | $9.38 | ||
| 1980 | $20.25 | $9.02 | ||
| 1981 | $20.00 | $8.91 | ||
| 1982 | $20.05 | $8.40 | ||
| 1983 | $20.03 | $8.06 | ||
| 1984 | $20.26 | $7.73 | ||
| 1985 | $20.56 | $7.48 | ||
| 1986 | $20.72 | $7.35 | ||
| 1987 | $20.30 | $7.10 | ||
| 1988 | $20.46 | $6.86 | ||
| 1989 | $20.52 | $6.57 | ||
| 1990 | $20.20 | $7.10 | ||
| 1991 | $20.21 | $7.66 | ||
| 1992 | $20.42 | $7.48 | ||
| 1993 | $20.20 | $7.29 | ||
| 1994 | $20.16 | $7.14 | ||
| 1995 | $19.85 | $6.98 | ||
| 1996 | $20.00 | $7.60 | ||
| 1997 | $20.54 | $8.06 | ||
| 1998 | $21.12 | $7.95 | ||
| 1999 | $21.68 | $7.79 | ||
| 2000 | $21.29 | $7.53 | ||
| 2001 | $21.68 | $7.32 | ||
| 2002 | $21.81 | $7.21 | ||
| 2003 | $21.85 | $7.05 | ||
| 2004 | $21.78 | $6.86 | ||
| 2005 | $21.50 | $6.64 | ||
| 2006 | $21.18 | $6.43 | ||
| 2007 | $21.53 | $7.10 | ||
| 2008 | $21.77 | $7.66 | ||
| 2009 | $22.49 | $8.51 | ||
| 2010 | $22.19 | $8.37 | ||
| 2011 | $21.56 | $8.11 | ||
| 2012 | $21.17 | $7.94 | ||
| 2013 | $20.92 | $7.83 | ||
| 2014 | $21.17 | $7.70 | ||
| 2015 | $21.83 | $7.69 | ||
| 2016 | $22.37 | $7.59 | ||
| 2017 | $22.28 | $7.43 | ||
| 2018 | $22.36 | $22.36 | $7.25 | $7.25 |
| 2019 | $22.47 | $8.35 | ||
| 2020 | $22.58 | $9.39 | ||
| 2021 | $22.69 | $10.37 | ||
| 2022 | $22.80 | $11.30 | ||
| 2023 | $22.91 | $12.18 | ||
| 2024 | $23.02 | $12.98* |
* $15 in 2024 is equivalent to $12.98 in 2018 dollars.
Notes: Inflation measured using the CPI-U-RS. The 2018 full-time, full-year median wage is estimated by growing the 2017 full-time, full-year median wage at the growth rate of average hourly earnings of production workers from 2017 to 2018. This value is then projected at the growth rate of CPI plus 0.5 percent.
Source: EPI analysis of the Fair Labor Standards Act and amendments, the Raise the Wage Act of 2019, and the Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement microdata