Figure E
At $15 in 2025, the federal minimum wage would no longer be a poverty wage: Annual wage income for a full-time federal minimum wage worker compared with various poverty thresholds (2021$), 1968–2025
| Year | Full-time federal minimum wage income (2021$) | Full-time federal minimum wage income (2021$) | Two-person family threshold (2021$) | Three-person family threshold (2021$) | Four-person family threshold(2021$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | $22,020 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1969 | $21,070 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1970 | $20,100 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1971 | $19,261 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1972 | $18,697 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1973 | $17,588 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1974 | $19,994 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1975 | $19,387 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1976 | $20,090 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1977 | $18,882 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1978 | $20,369 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1979 | $20,360 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1980 | $19,573 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1981 | $19,326 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1982 | $18,226 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1983 | $17,479 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1984 | $16,781 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1985 | $16,224 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1986 | $15,945 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1987 | $15,415 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1988 | $14,877 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1989 | $14,254 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1990 | $15,409 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1991 | $16,629 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1992 | $16,225 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1993 | $15,826 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1994 | $15,502 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1995 | $15,138 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1996 | $16,480 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1997 | $17,489 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1998 | $17,256 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 1999 | $16,896 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2000 | $16,341 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2001 | $15,889 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2002 | $15,642 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2003 | $15,295 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2004 | $14,893 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2005 | $14,405 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2006 | $13,953 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2007 | $15,412 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2008 | $16,618 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2009 | $18,458 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2010 | $18,158 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2011 | $17,603 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2012 | $17,238 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2013 | $16,987 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2014 | $16,704 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2015 | $16,675 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2016 | $16,463 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2017 | $16,116 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2018 | $15,733 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2019 | $15,452 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2020 | $15,262 | $15,262 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 |
| 2021 | $19,760 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2022 | $22,464 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2023 | $24,988 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2024 | $27,371 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 | |
| 2025 | $28,677 | $17,543 | $20,492 | $27,021 |
Sources: Authors' calculations of federal minimum wage values (adjusted for inflation using the CPI-U-RS and inflation projections from the Congressional Budget Office 2020), and 2019 weighted average poverty thresholds from U.S. Census Bureau 2020, adjusted to 2021 dollars.
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