Demographic characteristics of U.S. workers who would benefit if the federal minimum wage were raised to $17 by 2028
| Group | Total workforce | Directly affected | Share directly affected | Indirectly affected | Share indirectly affected | Total affected | Share of group who are affected | Group’s share of total affected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All workers | 146,831,000 | 14,727,000 | 10.0% | 13,131,000 | 8.9% | 27,858,000 | 19.0% | 100.0% |
| Gender | ||||||||
| Male | 75,687,000 | 5,695,000 | 7.5% | 5,440,000 | 7.2% | 11,135,000 | 14.7% | 40.0% |
| Female | 71,143,000 | 9,032,000 | 12.7% | 7,691,000 | 10.8% | 16,723,000 | 23.5% | 60.0% |
| Age group | ||||||||
| Ages 16–19 | 5,293,000 | 2,833,000 | 53.5% | 664,000 | 12.5% | 3,497,000 | 66.1% | 12.6% |
| Age 20 or older | 141,538,000 | 11,893,000 | 8.4% | 12,467,000 | 8.8% | 24,361,000 | 17.2% | 87.4% |
| Ages 16–24 | 19,834,000 | 7,306,000 | 36.8% | 3,346,000 | 16.9% | 10,652,000 | 53.7% | 38.2% |
| Ages 25–39 | 50,112,000 | 4,021,000 | 8.0% | 4,824,000 | 9.6% | 8,845,000 | 17.7% | 31.8% |
| Ages 40–54 | 45,431,000 | 1,762,000 | 3.9% | 2,764,000 | 6.1% | 4,526,000 | 10.0% | 16.2% |
| Age 55 or older | 31,453,000 | 1,638,000 | 5.2% | 2,197,000 | 7.0% | 3,835,000 | 12.2% | 13.8% |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||||
| White, non-Hispanic | 86,494,000 | 7,040,000 | 8.1% | 6,501,000 | 7.5% | 13,541,000 | 15.7% | 48.6% |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 17,619,000 | 3,023,000 | 17.2% | 2,205,000 | 12.5% | 5,228,000 | 29.7% | 18.8% |
| Hispanic, any race | 28,750,000 | 3,703,000 | 12.9% | 3,378,000 | 11.7% | 7,081,000 | 24.6% | 25.4% |
| Asian, non-Hispanic | 9,717,000 | 416,000 | 4.3% | 642,000 | 6.6% | 1,058,000 | 10.9% | 3.8% |
| Other race/ethnicity | 4,251,000 | 545,000 | 12.8% | 406,000 | 9.5% | 950,000 | 22.4% | 3.4% |
| Not person of color | 86,494,000 | 7,040,000 | 8.1% | 6,501,000 | 7.5% | 13,541,000 | 15.7% | 48.6% |
| Person of color | 60,336,000 | 7,687,000 | 12.7% | 6,630,000 | 11.0% | 14,317,000 | 23.7% | 51.4% |
| Family status | ||||||||
| Married parent | 36,637,000 | 1,449,000 | 4.0% | 2,035,000 | 5.6% | 3,484,000 | 9.5% | 12.5% |
| Single parent | 13,290,000 | 1,918,000 | 14.4% | 1,810,000 | 13.6% | 3,728,000 | 28.0% | 13.4% |
| Married, no children | 37,987,000 | 1,574,000 | 4.1% | 2,327,000 | 6.1% | 3,901,000 | 10.3% | 14.0% |
| Unmarried, no children | 58,917,000 | 9,786,000 | 16.6% | 6,959,000 | 11.8% | 16,745,000 | 28.4% | 60.1% |
| Education | ||||||||
| Less than high school | 14,247,000 | 3,813,000 | 26.8% | 2,180,000 | 15.3% | 5,993,000 | 42.1% | 21.5% |
| High school | 36,207,000 | 5,281,000 | 14.6% | 4,970,000 | 13.7% | 10,251,000 | 28.3% | 36.8% |
| Some college, no degree | 33,167,000 | 4,445,000 | 13.4% | 3,828,000 | 11.5% | 8,273,000 | 24.9% | 29.7% |
| Associates degree | 13,417,000 | 780,000 | 5.8% | 1,081,000 | 8.1% | 1,861,000 | 13.9% | 6.7% |
| Bachelors degree or higher | 49,793,000 | 407,000 | 0.8% | 1,072,000 | 2.2% | 1,480,000 | 3.0% | 5.3% |
| Family income | ||||||||
| Less than $25,000 | 15,606,000 | 5,043,000 | 32.3% | 3,424,000 | 21.9% | 8,467,000 | 54.3% | 30.4% |
| $25,000–$49,999 | 27,224,000 | 3,088,000 | 11.3% | 3,625,000 | 13.3% | 6,713,000 | 24.7% | 24.1% |
| $50,000–$74,999 | 25,596,000 | 2,137,000 | 8.3% | 2,223,000 | 8.7% | 4,360,000 | 17.0% | 15.7% |
| $75,000–$99,999 | 21,089,000 | 1,390,000 | 6.6% | 1,386,000 | 6.6% | 2,776,000 | 13.2% | 10.0% |
| $100,000–$149,999 | 28,247,000 | 1,529,000 | 5.4% | 1,381,000 | 4.9% | 2,910,000 | 10.3% | 10.4% |
| $150,000 or more | 27,841,000 | 1,032,000 | 3.7% | 910,000 | 3.3% | 1,942,000 | 7.0% | 7.0% |
| Family income-to-poverty ratio | ||||||||
| In poverty | 9,860,000 | 4,186,000 | 42.5% | 1,765,000 | 17.9% | 5,951,000 | 60.4% | 21.4% |
| 100–199% poverty | 20,025,000 | 3,957,000 | 19.8% | 4,190,000 | 20.9% | 8,147,000 | 40.7% | 29.2% |
| 200–399% poverty | 45,502,000 | 3,969,000 | 8.7% | 4,482,000 | 9.8% | 8,450,000 | 18.6% | 30.3% |
| 400%+ poverty | 71,444,000 | 2,615,000 | 3.7% | 2,695,000 | 3.8% | 5,309,000 | 7.4% | 19.1% |
| Work hours | ||||||||
| Part-time (<20 hours per week) | 8,450,000 | 2,313,000 | 27.4% | 1,135,000 | 13.4% | 3,448,000 | 40.8% | 12.4% |
| Mid-time (20–34 hours) | 20,979,000 | 5,896,000 | 28.1% | 3,434,000 | 16.4% | 9,330,000 | 44.5% | 33.5% |
| Full-time (35+ hours) | 117,401,000 | 6,518,000 | 5.6% | 8,562,000 | 7.3% | 15,080,000 | 12.8% | 54.1% |
| Industry | ||||||||
| Agriculture, fishing, forestry, mining | 2,263,000 | 265,000 | 11.7% | 171,000 | 7.6% | 436,000 | 19.2% | 1.6% |
| Construction | 8,478,000 | 333,000 | 3.9% | 540,000 | 6.4% | 873,000 | 10.3% | 3.1% |
| Manufacturing | 15,914,000 | 712,000 | 4.5% | 1,002,000 | 6.3% | 1,713,000 | 10.8% | 6.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 3,888,000 | 220,000 | 5.7% | 265,000 | 6.8% | 485,000 | 12.5% | 1.7% |
| Retail trade | 16,898,000 | 3,327,000 | 19.7% | 2,331,000 | 13.8% | 5,658,000 | 33.5% | 20.3% |
| Transportation, warehousing, utilities | 7,978,000 | 341,000 | 4.3% | 488,000 | 6.1% | 829,000 | 10.4% | 3.0% |
| Information | 2,970,000 | 122,000 | 4.1% | 108,000 | 3.6% | 231,000 | 7.8% | 0.8% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate | 9,333,000 | 229,000 | 2.5% | 348,000 | 3.7% | 577,000 | 6.2% | 2.1% |
| Professional, science, management services | 9,611,000 | 148,000 | 1.5% | 205,000 | 2.1% | 353,000 | 3.7% | 1.3% |
| Administrative, support, waste services | 5,811,000 | 756,000 | 13.0% | 732,000 | 12.6% | 1,488,000 | 25.6% | 5.3% |
| Educational services | 14,461,000 | 899,000 | 6.2% | 786,000 | 5.4% | 1,685,000 | 11.7% | 6.0% |
| Health care, social assistance | 21,163,000 | 1,915,000 | 9.0% | 1,934,000 | 9.1% | 3,848,000 | 18.2% | 13.8% |
| Arts, entertainment, recreational services | 2,994,000 | 561,000 | 18.7% | 440,000 | 14.7% | 1,001,000 | 33.4% | 3.6% |
| Accommodation | 1,736,000 | 372,000 | 21.4% | 313,000 | 18.0% | 685,000 | 39.5% | 2.5% |
| Restaurants | 10,032,000 | 3,572,000 | 35.6% | 2,313,000 | 23.1% | 5,885,000 | 58.7% | 21.1% |
| Other services | 5,896,000 | 830,000 | 14.1% | 966,000 | 16.4% | 1,796,000 | 30.5% | 6.4% |
| Public administration | 7,404,000 | 125,000 | 1.7% | 191,000 | 2.6% | 316,000 | 4.3% | 1.1% |
| Tipped occupations | ||||||||
| Nontipped | 142,827,000 | 13,435,000 | 9.4% | 11,134,000 | 7.8% | 24,568,000 | 17.2% | 88.2% |
| Tipped | 4,004,000 | 1,292,000 | 32.3% | 1,998,000 | 49.9% | 3,290,000 | 82.2% | 11.8% |
| Sector | ||||||||
| For-profit | 111,766,000 | 12,872,000 | 11.5% | 11,324,000 | 10.1% | 24,196,000 | 21.6% | 86.9% |
| Nonprofit | 12,979,000 | 889,000 | 6.8% | 846,000 | 6.5% | 1,735,000 | 13.4% | 6.2% |
| Government | 22,085,000 | 966,000 | 4.4% | 961,000 | 4.4% | 1,927,000 | 8.7% | 6.9% |
Notes: Values reflect the population estimated 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% 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; see Technical Methodology by Cooper, Mokhiber, and Zipperer (2019).