Appendix Table 3

Demographic characteristics of workers affected by increasing the federal minimum wage to $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 workers 149,340 28,078 18.8% 11,595 7.8% 39,673 26.6% 100.0%
Gender
Women 72,465 16,478 22.7% 6,479 8.9% 22,957 31.7% 57.9%
Men 76,875 11,600 15.1% 5,116 6.7% 16,716 21.7% 42.1%
Age
Age 19 or younger 5,213 3,366 64.6% 337 6.5% 3,702 71.0% 9.3%
Age 20 or older 144,126 24,712 17.1% 11,258 7.8% 35,970 25.0% 90.7%
Ages 16–24 20,313 10,834 53.3% 2,052 10.1% 12,886 63.4% 32.5%
Ages 25–39 50,239 8,890 17.7% 4,446 8.9% 13,336 26.5% 33.6%
Ages 40–54 47,723 4,632 9.7% 3,011 6.3% 7,643 16.0% 19.3%
Age 55 or older 31,065 3,722 12.0% 2,086 6.7% 5,807 18.7% 14.6%
Race/ethnicity
White 89,375 14,187 15.9% 6,514 7.3% 20,701 23.2% 52.2%
Black 17,564 5,079 28.9% 1,621 9.2% 6,700 38.1% 16.9%
Hispanic 28,702 6,984 24.3% 2,598 9.1% 9,583 33.4% 24.2%
Asian 9,641 909 9.4% 526 5.5% 1,435 14.9% 3.6%
Other race/ethnicity 4,057 919 22.6% 335 8.3% 1,254 30.9% 3.2%
Women of color 29,027 7,792 26.8% 2,554 8.8% 10,346 35.6% 26.1%
Men of color 30,937 6,099 19.7% 2,526 8.2% 8,626 27.9% 21.7%
Family status
Married parent 37,727 3,656 9.7% 2,231 5.9% 5,887 15.6% 14.8%
Single parent 13,783 3,877 28.1% 1,478 10.7% 5,355 38.9% 13.5%
Married, no children 38,401 3,929 10.2% 2,413 6.3% 6,342 16.5% 16.0%
Unmarried, no children 59,430 16,616 28.0% 5,473 9.2% 22,089 37.2% 55.7%
Education
Less than high school 15,045 6,159 40.9% 1,529 10.2% 7,688 51.1% 19.4%
High school 37,103 10,299 27.8% 4,233 11.4% 14,532 39.2% 36.6%
Some college, no degree 34,755 8,536 24.6% 3,429 9.9% 11,965 34.4% 30.2%
Associate degree 13,495 1,801 13.3% 1,105 8.2% 2,906 21.5% 7.3%
Bachelor’s degree or higher 48,942 1,282 2.6% 1,299 2.7% 2,582 5.3% 6.5%
Family income
Less than $25,000 20,098 10,276 51.1% 2,516 12.5% 12,792 63.6% 32.2%
$25,000–$49,999 30,386 6,930 22.8% 3,882 12.8% 10,812 35.6% 27.3%
$50,000–$74,999 27,730 4,344 15.7% 2,189 7.9% 6,533 23.6% 16.5%
$75,000–$99,999 21,733 2,597 12.0% 1,288 5.9% 3,885 17.9% 9.8%
$100,000–$149,999 26,711 2,506 9.4% 1,120 4.2% 3,626 13.6% 9.1%
$150,000 or more 22,682 1,425 6.3% 600 2.6% 2,025 8.9% 5.1%
Family income-to-poverty ratio
At or below the poverty line 10,292 5,914 57.5% 1,013 9.8% 6,927 67.3% 17.5%
101–200% of poverty line 21,646 8,410 38.9% 3,190 14.7% 11,600 53.6% 29.2%
201–400% of poverty line 46,889 8,341 17.8% 4,798 10.2% 13,138 28.0% 33.1%
401% or above 69,575 4,858 7.0% 2,535 3.6% 7,393 10.6% 18.6%
Poverty status not available 938 555 59.2% 60 6.4% 615 65.6% 1.5%
Work hours
Part time (<20 hours) 8,637 3,398 39.3% 784 9.1% 4,182 48.4% 10.5%
Mid time (20– 34 hours) 22,177 9,349 42.2% 2,352 10.6% 11,701 52.8% 29.5%
Full time (35+ hours) 118,525 15,331 12.9% 8,458 7.1% 23,789 20.1% 60.0%
Industry
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting 2,434 523 21.5% 184 7.6% 707 29.1% 1.8%
Construction 8,228 993 12.1% 618 7.5% 1,611 19.6% 4.1%
Manufacturing 16,443 2,017 12.3% 1,138 6.9% 3,155 19.2% 8.0%
Wholesale trade 4,072 543 13.3% 280 6.9% 823 20.2% 2.1%
Retail trade 17,572 6,071 34.6% 1,739 9.9% 7,811 44.4% 19.7%
Transportation, warehousing, utilities 7,773 799 10.3% 494 6.4% 1,293 16.6% 3.3%
Information 3,188 263 8.2% 130 4.1% 392 12.3% 1.0%
Finance, insurance, real estate 9,531 656 6.9% 442 4.6% 1,098 11.5% 2.8%
Professional, scientific, management, technical services 9,256 381 4.1% 240 2.6% 620 6.7% 1.6%
Administrative, support, and waste management 5,968 1,646 27.6% 584 9.8% 2,231 37.4% 5.6%
Education 14,673 1,725 11.8% 759 5.2% 2,483 16.9% 6.3%
Health care 21,437 3,952 18.4% 1,613 7.5% 5,565 26.0% 14.0%
Arts, entertainment, recreational services 3,028 960 31.7% 357 11.8% 1,317 43.5% 3.3%
Accommodation 1,803 700 38.8% 246 13.7% 947 52.5% 2.4%
Restaurants and food service 10,290 4,995 48.5% 1,691 16.4% 6,686 65.0% 16.9%
Other services 6,039 1,508 25.0% 818 13.5% 2,326 38.5% 5.9%
Public administration 7,606 346 4.5% 262 3.4% 607 8.0% 1.5%
Tipped occupations
Tipped workers 4,393 1,778 40.5% 1,828 41.6% 3,606 82.1% 9.1%
Nontipped workers 144,947 26,300 18.1% 9,767 6.7% 36,067 24.9% 90.9%
Sector
For-profit 113,570 24,250 21.4% 9,760 8.6% 34,010 29.9% 85.7%
Government 22,641 2,027 9.0% 1,037 4.6% 3,064 13.5% 7.7%
Nonprofit 13,128 1,801 13.7% 798 6.1% 2,599 19.8% 6.6%

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.

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