The minimum wage would be over $18 had it risen along with productivity: Real value of the federal minimum wage compared with its value had it grown at the rate of productivity and average hourly wages, 1968–2014
| Year | Real minimum wage | Real hourly wage | Productivity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | $ 9.58 | $ 9.58 | $ 9.58 |
| 1969 | $ 9.17 | $ 9.78 | $ 9.62 |
| 1970 | $ 8.75 | $ 9.85 | $ 9.76 |
| 1971 | $ 8.38 | $ 10.07 | $ 10.12 |
| 1972 | $ 8.14 | $ 10.51 | $ 10.39 |
| 1973 | $ 7.65 | $ 10.49 | $ 10.64 |
| 1974 | $ 8.70 | $ 10.21 | $ 10.47 |
| 1975 | $ 8.44 | $ 10.07 | $ 10.70 |
| 1976 | $ 8.74 | $ 10.19 | $ 11.00 |
| 1977 | $ 8.22 | $ 10.30 | $ 11.13 |
| 1978 | $ 8.86 | $ 10.42 | $ 11.24 |
| 1979 | $ 8.85 | $ 10.25 | $ 11.26 |
| 1980 | $ 8.52 | $ 9.97 | $ 11.17 |
| 1981 | $ 8.40 | $ 9.89 | $ 11.41 |
| 1982 | $ 7.93 | $ 9.86 | $ 11.24 |
| 1983 | $ 7.60 | $ 9.86 | $ 11.58 |
| 1984 | $ 7.30 | $ 9.80 | $ 11.88 |
| 1985 | $ 7.06 | $ 9.76 | $ 12.08 |
| 1986 | $ 6.93 | $ 9.79 | $ 12.33 |
| 1987 | $ 6.71 | $ 9.70 | $ 12.39 |
| 1988 | $ 6.47 | $ 9.66 | $ 12.54 |
| 1989 | $ 6.20 | $ 9.61 | $ 12.64 |
| 1990 | $ 6.70 | $ 9.53 | $ 12.82 |
| 1991 | $ 7.24 | $ 9.48 | $ 12.92 |
| 1992 | $ 7.06 | $ 9.47 | $ 13.39 |
| 1993 | $ 6.89 | $ 9.49 | $ 13.43 |
| 1994 | $ 6.74 | $ 9.53 | $ 13.56 |
| 1995 | $ 6.58 | $ 9.56 | $ 13.57 |
| 1996 | $ 7.17 | $ 9.63 | $ 13.90 |
| 1997 | $ 7.61 | $ 9.79 | $ 14.09 |
| 1998 | $ 7.50 | $ 10.04 | $ 14.37 |
| 1999 | $ 7.35 | $ 10.20 | $ 14.72 |
| 2000 | $ 7.11 | $ 10.26 | $ 15.07 |
| 2001 | $ 6.92 | $ 10.35 | $ 15.30 |
| 2002 | $ 6.81 | $ 10.48 | $ 15.73 |
| 2003 | $ 6.66 | $ 10.53 | $ 16.24 |
| 2004 | $ 6.48 | $ 10.46 | $ 16.68 |
| 2005 | $ 6.27 | $ 10.40 | $ 16.97 |
| 2006 | $ 6.07 | $ 10.47 | $ 17.07 |
| 2007 | $ 6.71 | $ 10.58 | $ 17.19 |
| 2008 | $ 7.23 | $ 10.57 | $ 17.22 |
| 2009 | $ 8.04 | $ 10.93 | $ 17.58 |
| 2010 | $ 7.91 | $ 11.01 | $ 18.09 |
| 2011 | $ 7.66 | $ 10.89 | $ 18.12 |
| 2012 | $ 7.51 | $ 10.83 | $ 18.26 |
| 2013 | $ 7.40 | $ 10.89 | $ 18.43 |
| 2014 | $ 7.25 | $ 10.89 | $ 18.42 |
Note: Real average hourly wages are of production/nonsupervisory workers in the private sector, and productivity is net productivity of the total economy.
Source: EPI analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics and Labor Wage and Hour Division
Source: Productivity data are unpublished data from the BLS Labor Productivity and Costs program's Major Sector Productivity and Costs and Industry Productivity and Costs databases; wage data come from the BLS Current Employment Statistics program's Employment, Hours and Earnings—National database; Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata from the CPS survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics; and U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division's online chart, “History of Federal Minimum Wage Rates Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938-2009.”
Adapted from Raising the Federal Minimum Wage to $10.10 Would Save Safety Net Programs Billions and Help Ensure Businesses Are Doing Their Fair Share, by David Cooper, Economic Policy Institute, 2014.