Demographic characteristics of workers affected by increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025
| Group | Total estimated workforce (thousands) | Directly affected (thousands) | Share of total directly affected | Indirectly affected (thousands) | Share of total indirectly affected | Total affected (thousands) | Share of total affected | Group’s share of total affected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All workers | 150,469 | 23,237 | 15.4% | 10,222 | 6.8% | 33,459 | 22.2% | 100.0% |
| Gender | ||||||||
| Women | 72,988 | 13,656 | 18.7% | 5,851 | 8.0% | 19,508 | 26.7% | 58.3% |
| Men | 77,481 | 9,581 | 12.4% | 4,370 | 5.6% | 13,951 | 18.0% | 41.7% |
| Age | ||||||||
| Age 19 or younger | 5,258 | 2,872 | 54.6% | 486 | 9.2% | 3,358 | 63.9% | 10.0% |
| Age 20 or older | 145,211 | 20,366 | 14.0% | 9,736 | 6.7% | 30,102 | 20.7% | 90.0% |
| Ages 16–24 | 20,500 | 9,053 | 44.2% | 2,322 | 11.3% | 11,375 | 55.5% | 34.0% |
| Ages 25–39 | 50,705 | 7,325 | 14.4% | 3,824 | 7.5% | 11,149 | 22.0% | 33.3% |
| Ages 40–54 | 48,076 | 3,791 | 7.9% | 2,423 | 5.0% | 6,214 | 12.9% | 18.6% |
| Age 55 or older | 31,188 | 3,068 | 9.8% | 1,653 | 5.3% | 4,721 | 15.1% | 14.1% |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||||
| White | 89,040 | 11,631 | 13.1% | 5,749 | 6.5% | 17,380 | 19.5% | 51.9% |
| Black | 17,784 | 4,448 | 25.0% | 1,267 | 7.1% | 5,715 | 32.1% | 17.1% |
| Hispanic | 29,595 | 5,648 | 19.1% | 2,405 | 8.1% | 8,053 | 27.2% | 24.1% |
| Asian or other race/ethnicity | 14,051 | 1,511 | 10.8% | 801 | 5.7% | 2,312 | 16.5% | 6.9% |
| Men of color | 31,715 | 5,063 | 16.0% | 2,153 | 6.8% | 7,217 | 22.8% | 21.6% |
| Women of color | 29,714 | 6,543 | 22.0% | 2,320 | 7.8% | 8,863 | 29.8% | 26.5% |
| Family status | ||||||||
| Married parent | 38,042 | 3,007 | 7.9% | 1,826 | 4.8% | 4,833 | 12.7% | 14.4% |
| Single parent | 13,940 | 3,233 | 23.2% | 1,329 | 9.5% | 4,562 | 32.7% | 13.6% |
| Married, no children | 38,588 | 3,245 | 8.4% | 1,931 | 5.0% | 5,175 | 13.4% | 15.5% |
| Unmarried, no children | 59,899 | 13,753 | 23.0% | 5,137 | 8.6% | 18,889 | 31.5% | 56.5% |
| Usual work hours | ||||||||
| Part time (<20 hours) | 8,690 | 2,786 | 32.1% | 821 | 9.4% | 3,607 | 41.5% | 10.8% |
| Mid time (20–34 hours) | 22,353 | 7,768 | 34.8% | 2,436 | 10.9% | 10,204 | 45.7% | 30.5% |
| Full time (35+ hours) | 119,426 | 12,683 | 10.6% | 6,965 | 5.8% | 19,648 | 16.5% | 58.7% |
| Educational attainment | ||||||||
| Less than high school | 15,314 | 5,201 | 34.0% | 1,483 | 9.7% | 6,684 | 43.6% | 20.0% |
| High school | 37,401 | 8,537 | 22.8% | 3,715 | 9.9% | 12,252 | 32.8% | 36.6% |
| Some college, no degree | 35,005 | 7,043 | 20.1% | 3,090 | 8.8% | 10,132 | 28.9% | 30.3% |
| Associate degree | 13,569 | 1,455 | 10.7% | 919 | 6.8% | 2,374 | 17.5% | 7.1% |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 49,181 | 1,002 | 2.0% | 1,015 | 2.1% | 2,017 | 4.1% | 6.0% |
| Family income | ||||||||
| Less than $25,000 | 20,317 | 8,712 | 42.9% | 2,628 | 12.9% | 11,340 | 55.8% | 33.9% |
| $25,000–$49,999 | 30,681 | 5,783 | 18.9% | 3,216 | 10.5% | 8,999 | 29.3% | 26.9% |
| $50,000–$74,999 | 27,946 | 3,585 | 12.8% | 1,840 | 6.6% | 5,424 | 19.4% | 16.2% |
| $75,000–$99,999 | 21,875 | 2,111 | 9.6% | 1,069 | 4.9% | 3,180 | 14.5% | 9.5% |
| $100,000–$149,999 | 26,859 | 1,978 | 7.4% | 949 | 3.5% | 2,927 | 10.9% | 8.7% |
| $150,000 or more | 22,791 | 1,069 | 4.7% | 520 | 2.3% | 1,589 | 7.0% | 4.7% |
| Family income-to-poverty ratio | ||||||||
| At or below the poverty line | 10,421 | 5,071 | 48.7% | 1,166 | 11.2% | 6,237 | 59.8% | 18.6% |
| 101–200% of poverty line | 21,924 | 7,047 | 32.1% | 2,939 | 13.4% | 9,986 | 45.5% | 29.8% |
| 201–400% of poverty line | 47,296 | 6,856 | 14.5% | 3,932 | 8.3% | 10,788 | 22.8% | 32.2% |
| 401% or above | 69,885 | 3,793 | 5.4% | 2,104 | 3.0% | 5,897 | 8.4% | 17.6% |
| Poverty status not available | 943 | 471 | 49.9% | 81 | 8.6% | 552 | 58.5% | 1.6% |
| Industry | ||||||||
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting | 2,463 | 453 | 18.4% | 151 | 6.1% | 604 | 24.5% | 1.8% |
| Construction | 8,311 | 841 | 10.1% | 482 | 5.8% | 1,322 | 15.9% | 4.0% |
| Manufacturing | 16,562 | 1,694 | 10.2% | 822 | 5.0% | 2,516 | 15.2% | 7.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 4,101 | 437 | 10.7% | 203 | 4.9% | 640 | 15.6% | 1.9% |
| Retail trade | 17,702 | 5,046 | 28.5% | 1,497 | 8.5% | 6,542 | 37.0% | 19.6% |
| Transportation, warehousing, utilities | 7,834 | 639 | 8.2% | 347 | 4.4% | 985 | 12.6% | 2.9% |
| Information | 3,207 | 213 | 6.6% | 105 | 3.3% | 318 | 9.9% | 1.0% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate | 9,587 | 540 | 5.6% | 324 | 3.4% | 864 | 9.0% | 2.6% |
| Professional, scientific, management, technical services | 9,307 | 313 | 3.4% | 170 | 1.8% | 483 | 5.2% | 1.4% |
| Administrative, support, and waste management | 6,037 | 1,353 | 22.4% | 494 | 8.2% | 1,846 | 30.6% | 5.5% |
| Education | 14,746 | 1,438 | 9.7% | 606 | 4.1% | 2,044 | 13.9% | 6.1% |
| Healthcare | 21,591 | 3,265 | 15.1% | 1,279 | 5.9% | 4,544 | 21.0% | 13.6% |
| Arts, entertainment, recreational services | 3,048 | 782 | 25.7% | 360 | 11.8% | 1,142 | 37.5% | 3.4% |
| Accommodation | 1,827 | 600 | 32.8% | 255 | 14.0% | 855 | 46.8% | 2.6% |
| Restaurants and food service | 10,405 | 4,141 | 39.8% | 2,087 | 20.1% | 6,227 | 59.8% | 18.6% |
| Other services | 6,088 | 1,200 | 19.7% | 852 | 14.0% | 2,052 | 33.7% | 6.1% |
| Public administration | 7,652 | 283 | 3.7% | 190 | 2.5% | 473 | 6.2% | 1.4% |
| Tipped occupations | ||||||||
| Nontipped workers | 146,034 | 21,948 | 15.0% | 7,828 | 5.4% | 29,776 | 20.4% | 89.0% |
| Tipped workers | 4,436 | 1,290 | 29.1% | 2,394 | 54.0% | 3,684 | 83.0% | 11.0% |
| Sector | ||||||||
| For-profit | 114,498 | 20,079 | 17.5% | 8,749 | 7.6% | 28,828 | 25.2% | 86.2% |
| Government | 22,777 | 1,684 | 7.4% | 815 | 3.6% | 2,499 | 11.0% | 7.5% |
| Nonprofit | 13,194 | 1,474 | 11.2% | 658 | 5.0% | 2,133 | 16.2% | 6.4% |
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. The last two columns show what share of the workforce subgroup is affected, and that subgroup's share of all affected workers. So for example, it shows that 26.7% of working women are affected, and that working women constitute 58.3% of all affected workers.
Source: Economic Policy Institute Minimum Wage Simulation Model using data from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Congressional Budget Office. See David Cooper, Zane Mokhiber, and Ben Zipperer, Minimum Wage Simulation Model Technical Methodology, February 2019.