After the longest period in history without an increase, the federal minimum wage today is worth 29% less than 15 years ago–and 39% less than in 1968: Real value of the minimum wage (adjusted for inflation)

After the longest period in history without an increase, the federal minimum wage today is worth 29% less than 15 years ago–and 39% less than in 1968: Real value of the minimum wage (adjusted for inflation)

Notes: All values in March 2024 dollars, adjusted using the chained CPI-U since 2000, extended retroactively to the CPI-U-RS (1978-1999), CPI-U-X1 (1967–1977), and CPI-U (1966 and before).

Source: Calculations by Ben Zipperer, Economic Policy Institute. Download the data or view the code that produces this figure.

View the underlying data on epi.org.