March 2018 Report 1072

Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2017

In 2017, 80.4 million workers age 16 and older in the United States were paid at hourly rates, representing 58.3 percent of all wage and salary workers. Among those paid by the hour, 542,000 workers earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. About 1.3 million had wages below the federal minimum. Together, these 1.8 million workers with wages at or below the federal minimum made up 2.3 percent of all hourly paid workers.

The percentage of hourly paid workers earning the prevailing federal minimum wage or less declined from 2.7 percent in 2016 to 2.3 percent in 2017. This remains well below the percentage of 13.4 recorded in 1979, when data were first collected on a regular basis. (See table 10.)

This report presents highlights and statistical tables describing workers who earned at or below the federal minimum wage in 2017. The data are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a national monthly survey of approximately 60,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Information on earnings is collected from one-fourth of the CPS sample each month.

The CPS does not include questions on whether workers are covered by the minimum wage provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or by individual state or local minimum wage laws. The estimates of workers paid at or below the federal minimum wage are based solely on the hourly wage they report, which does not include overtime pay, tips, or commissions. See the accompanying technical notes section for more information, including a description of the source of the data and an explanation of the concepts and definitions used in this report.

Highlights

The following are highlights from the 2017 data:

Age. Minimum wage workers tend to be young. Although workers under age 25 represented only about one-fifth of hourly paid workers, they made up about half of those paid the federal minimum wage or less. Among employed teenagers (ages 16 to 19) paid by the hour, about 8 percent earned the minimum wage or less, compared with about 1 percent of workers age 25 and older. (See tables 1 and 7.)

Gender. Among workers who were paid hourly rates in 2017, about 3 percent of women and about 2 percent of men had wages at or below the prevailing federal minimum. (See table 1.)

Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. The percentage of hourly paid workers with wages at or below the federal minimum differed little among the major race and ethnicity groups. About 3 percent of African American or Black workers earned the federal minimum wage or less. Among White, Asian, and Hispanic workers, the percentage was about 2 percent. (See table 1.)

Education. Among hourly paid workers age 16 and older, about 4 percent of those without a high school diploma earned the federal minimum wage or less, compared with about 2 percent of those who had a high school diploma (with no college), about 2 percent of those with some college or an associate degree, and about 1 percent of college graduates. (See table 6.)

Marital status. Of those paid an hourly wage, never-married workers, who tend to be young, were more likely (4 percent) than married workers (1 percent) to earn the federal minimum wage or less. (See table 8.)

Full- and part-time status. About 6 percent of part-time workers (persons who usually work fewer than 35 hours per week) were paid the federal minimum wage or less, compared with about 1 percent of full-time workers. (See table 1.)

Occupation. Among major occupational groups, service occupations had the highest percentage of hourly paid workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage, at about 7 percent. About two-thirds of workers earning the minimum wage or less in 2017 were employed in service occupations, mostly in food preparation and serving related jobs. (See table 4.)

Industry. The industry with the highest percentage of workers earning hourly wages at or below the federal minimum wage was leisure and hospitality (11 percent). About three-fifths of all workers paid at or below the federal minimum wage were employed in this industry, almost entirely in restaurants and other food services. For many of these workers, tips may supplement the hourly wages received. (See table 5.)

State of residence. The states with the highest percentages of hourly paid workers earning at or below the minimum wage were in the South: Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Virginia (all were about 4 percent). The states with the lowest percentages of hourly paid workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage were in the West or Midwest: California, Washington, Montana, and Minnesota (all were less than 1 percent). It should be noted that many states have minimum wage laws establishing standards that exceed the federal minimum wage. (See tables 2 and 3.)

Statistical Tables

Table 1. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage, by selected characteristics, 2017 annual averages
Characteristic	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percentage of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			At or below minimum wage
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage
Age and gender
Total, 16 years and older	80,439	1,824	542	1,282	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.3	0.7	1.6
16 to 24 years	15,974	891	321	569	19.9	48.8	59.2	44.4	5.6	2.0	3.6
16 to 19 years	4,660	388	172	215	5.8	21.3	31.8	16.8	8.3	3.7	4.6
25 years and older	64,465	933	221	712	80.1	51.2	40.8	55.6	1.4	0.3	1.1
Men, 16 years and older	39,781	678	226	452	49.5	37.2	41.6	35.3	1.7	0.6	1.1
16 to 24 years	8,009	329	131	198	10.0	18.0	24.1	15.5	4.1	1.6	2.5
16 to 19 years	2,252	146	65	81	2.8	8.0	12.1	6.3	6.5	2.9	3.6
25 years and older	31,772	349	95	254	39.5	19.1	17.5	19.8	1.1	0.3	0.8
Women, 16 years and older	40,658	1,146	316	829	50.5	62.8	58.4	64.7	2.8	0.8	2.0
16 to 24 years	7,965	562	190	371	9.9	30.8	35.1	29.0	7.1	2.4	4.7
16 to 19 years	2,409	241	107	134	3.0	13.2	19.7	10.5	10.0	4.4	5.6
25 years and older	32,693	584	126	458	40.6	32.0	23.2	35.7	1.8	0.4	1.4
Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
White(1)	61,258	1,375	359	1,016	76.2	75.4	66.3	79.3	2.2	0.6	1.7
Men	30,861	490	154	336	38.4	26.9	28.4	26.2	1.6	0.5	1.1
Women	30,398	885	205	680	37.8	48.5	37.9	53.0	2.9	0.7	2.2
Black or African American(1)	11,829	301	146	155	14.7	16.5	26.9	12.1	2.5	1.2	1.3
Men	5,385	135	58	76	6.7	7.4	10.8	5.9	2.5	1.1	1.4
Women	6,445	166	88	79	8.0	9.1	16.2	6.2	2.6	1.4	1.2
Asian(1)	4,001	70	14	56	5.0	3.8	2.7	4.3	1.7	0.4	1.4
Men	1,841	23	4	19	2.3	1.3	0.8	1.5	1.3	0.2	1.0
Women	2,160	47	10	37	2.7	2.6	1.9	2.9	2.2	0.5	1.7
Hispanic or Latino(1)	16,604	301	101	200	20.6	16.5	18.6	15.6	1.8	0.6	1.2
Men	9,131	124	48	77	11.4	6.8	8.8	6.0	1.4	0.5	0.8
Women	7,473	176	53	123	9.3	9.7	9.9	9.6	2.4	0.7	1.6
Full- and part-time status
Full-time workers(2)	60,205	640	130	510	74.8	35.1	24.0	39.8	1.1	0.2	0.8
Men	32,808	265	59	207	40.8	14.5	10.8	16.1	0.8	0.2	0.6
Women	27,397	375	71	303	34.1	20.5	13.2	23.7	1.4	0.3	1.1
Part-time workers(2)	20,139	1,181	412	769	25.0	64.7	76.0	60.0	5.9	2.0	3.8
Men	6,921	412	167	245	8.6	22.6	30.8	19.1	5.9	2.4	3.5
Women	13,219	769	245	524	16.4	42.2	45.2	40.9	5.8	1.9	4.0
Footnotes (1) Estimates for the above race groups--White, Black or African American, and Asian--do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. (2) The distinction between full- and part-time workers is based on hours usually worked. These data will not sum to totals because full- or part-time status on the principal job is not identifiable for a small number of multiple jobholders. Full time is 35 hours or more per week; part time is less than 35 hours.
Note: Data exclude all self-employed persons whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 2. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage, by census region and division, 2017 annual averages
Region and division	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percentage of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			At or below minimum wage
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage
Total, 16 years and older	80,439	1,824	542	1,282	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.3	0.7	1.6
Northeast	13,168	288	88	199	16.4	15.8	16.3	15.6	2.2	0.7	1.5
New England	3,728	80	10	69	4.6	4.4	1.9	5.4	2.1	0.3	1.9
Middle Atlantic	9,440	208	78	130	11.7	11.4	14.5	10.1	2.2	0.8	1.4
Midwest	19,154	409	99	310	23.8	22.4	18.3	24.2	2.1	0.5	1.6
East North Central	13,048	303	70	233	16.2	16.6	12.9	18.2	2.3	0.5	1.8
West North Central	6,106	106	29	77	7.6	5.8	5.4	6.0	1.7	0.5	1.3
South	28,700	918	302	616	35.7	50.3	55.7	48.1	3.2	1.1	2.1
South Atlantic	14,904	452	111	341	18.5	24.8	20.4	26.6	3.0	0.7	2.3
East South Central	4,775	190	84	106	5.9	10.4	15.4	8.3	4.0	1.8	2.2
West South Central	9,021	276	108	168	11.2	15.2	19.9	13.1	3.1	1.2	1.9
West	19,418	208	52	156	24.1	11.4	9.6	12.2	1.1	0.3	0.8
Mountain	6,155	120	30	90	7.7	6.6	5.6	7.0	2.0	0.5	1.5
Pacific	13,263	88	22	66	16.5	4.8	4.0	5.2	0.7	0.2	0.5
Note: Data exclude all self-employed persons whether or not their businesses are incorporated. The four major regions and nine census divisions of the United States are as follows: Northeast: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania Midwest: East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota South: South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas West: Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 3. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage, by state, 2017 annual averages
State	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percentage of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			At or below minimum wage
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage
Total, 16 years and older	80,439	1,824	542	1,282	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.3	0.7	1.6
Alabama	1,189	40	26	14	1.5	2.2	4.8	1.1	3.4	2.2	1.2
Alaska	203	2	1	1	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.1	1.2	0.6	0.5
Arizona	1,644	29	2	27	2.0	1.6	0.4	2.1	1.8	0.1	1.6
Arkansas	769	14	3	11	1.0	0.8	0.5	0.9	1.8	0.4	1.4
California	9,685	52	14	39	12.0	2.9	2.5	3.0	0.5	0.1	0.4
Colorado	1,292	22	0	22	1.6	1.2	0.0	1.7	1.7	0.0	1.7
Connecticut	937	14	1	14	1.2	0.8	0.2	1.1	1.5	0.1	1.5
Delaware	266	8	2	6	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.4	2.9	0.8	2.1
District of Columbia	116	4	1	3	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.2	3.0	0.6	2.4
Florida	4,726	123	6	116	5.9	6.7	1.1	9.1	2.6	0.1	2.5
Georgia	2,288	73	30	43	2.8	4.0	5.6	3.3	3.2	1.3	1.9
Hawaii	372	6	1	5	0.5	0.3	0.2	0.4	1.7	0.3	1.4
Idaho	477	16	5	11	0.6	0.9	0.9	0.9	3.3	1.0	2.3
Illinois	3,147	79	18	61	3.9	4.3	3.3	4.8	2.5	0.6	1.9
Indiana	1,937	59	24	35	2.4	3.2	4.4	2.7	3.0	1.2	1.8
Iowa	962	16	6	10	1.2	0.9	1.2	0.8	1.7	0.7	1.0
Kansas	825	26	9	17	1.0	1.4	1.7	1.3	3.2	1.1	2.1
Kentucky	1,176	52	17	35	1.5	2.9	3.2	2.7	4.4	1.5	3.0
Louisiana	1,061	39	15	24	1.3	2.1	2.7	1.9	3.6	1.4	2.3
Maine	366	10	1	8	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.7	2.7	0.4	2.3
Maryland	1,458	39	11	28	1.8	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.7	0.8	1.9
Massachusetts	1,567	40	4	36	1.9	2.2	0.7	2.8	2.5	0.2	2.3
Michigan	2,711	57	6	52	3.4	3.1	1.0	4.0	2.1	0.2	1.9
Minnesota	1,649	14	6	8	2.1	0.8	1.1	0.6	0.9	0.4	0.5
Mississippi	704	29	15	14	0.9	1.6	2.7	1.1	4.1	2.1	2.0
Missouri	1,634	33	4	29	2.0	1.8	0.8	2.3	2.0	0.3	1.8
Montana	291	2	0	2	0.4	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.8	0.2	0.7
Nebraska	540	7	1	6	0.7	0.4	0.2	0.5	1.3	0.2	1.1
Nevada	883	12	6	6	1.1	0.7	1.1	0.5	1.4	0.7	0.7
New Hampshire	382	8	2	6	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.5	2.1	0.5	1.6
New Jersey	1,788	27	8	19	2.2	1.5	1.4	1.5	1.5	0.4	1.1
New Mexico	505	14	3	11	0.6	0.8	0.5	0.9	2.7	0.5	2.2
New York	4,236	75	28	47	5.3	4.1	5.2	3.7	1.8	0.7	1.1
North Carolina	2,481	82	28	54	3.1	4.5	5.2	4.2	3.3	1.1	2.2
North Dakota	234	5	1	4	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3	2.0	0.5	1.5
Ohio	3,391	58	6	52	4.2	3.2	1.1	4.1	1.7	0.2	1.5
Oklahoma	901	28	12	16	1.1	1.5	2.3	1.2	3.1	1.4	1.7
Oregon	1,094	13	3	10	1.4	0.7	0.6	0.8	1.2	0.3	0.9
Pennsylvania	3,415	106	43	64	4.2	5.8	7.9	5.0	3.1	1.2	1.9
Rhode Island	298	4	1	3	0.4	0.2	0.1	0.3	1.4	0.2	1.1
South Carolina	1,132	43	14	29	1.4	2.4	2.6	2.3	3.8	1.2	2.6
South Dakota	264	5	1	4	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3	1.8	0.4	1.4
Tennessee	1,706	69	26	43	2.1	3.8	4.8	3.4	4.1	1.5	2.5
Texas	6,290	196	78	118	7.8	10.7	14.5	9.2	3.1	1.2	1.9
Utah	900	21	13	9	1.1	1.2	2.3	0.7	2.4	1.4	1.0
Vermont	177	3	1	2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1	1.8	0.8	1.1
Virginia	1,978	70	15	55	2.5	3.9	2.8	4.3	3.6	0.8	2.8
Washington	1,910	14	3	12	2.4	0.8	0.5	0.9	0.8	0.1	0.6
West Virginia	459	10	2	7	0.6	0.5	0.4	0.6	2.1	0.5	1.6
Wisconsin	1,862	50	17	33	2.3	2.7	3.1	2.6	2.7	0.9	1.8
Wyoming	164	4	2	2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	2.2	0.9	1.2
Note: Data exclude all self-employed persons whether or not their businesses are incorporated. These data are based on a sample and therefore are subject to sampling error; the degree of error may be quite large for less populous states. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 4. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage, by occupation, 2017 annual averages
Occupation	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percentage of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			At or below minimum wage
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage
Total, 16 years and older	80,439	1,824	542	1,282	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.3	0.7	1.6
Management, professional, and related occupations	18,233	102	23	79	22.7	5.6	4.3	6.2	0.6	0.1	0.4
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	5,293	30	2	28	6.6	1.7	0.4	2.2	0.6	0.0	0.5
Professional and related occupations	12,940	72	21	51	16.1	3.9	3.9	4.0	0.6	0.2	0.4
Service occupations	19,261	1,249	240	1,009	23.9	68.5	44.3	78.7	6.5	1.2	5.2
Healthcare support occupations	2,907	53	17	36	3.6	2.9	3.1	2.8	1.8	0.6	1.2
Protective service occupations	1,996	27	8	19	2.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.3	0.4	0.9
Food preparation and serving related occupations	7,199	971	134	837	8.9	53.2	24.6	65.3	13.5	1.9	11.6
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	3,887	80	40	40	4.8	4.4	7.3	3.1	2.0	1.0	1.0
Personal care and service occupations	3,273	119	42	77	4.1	6.5	7.7	6.0	3.6	1.3	2.4
Sales and office occupations	20,214	289	207	82	25.1	15.8	38.1	6.4	1.4	1.0	0.4
Sales and related occupations	8,010	199	141	58	10.0	10.9	26.0	4.5	2.5	1.8	0.7
Office and administrative support occupations	12,204	90	66	24	15.2	4.9	12.1	1.9	0.7	0.5	0.2
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	9,188	31	6	26	11.4	1.7	1.0	2.0	0.3	0.1	0.3
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	792	10	1	8	1.0	0.5	0.2	0.6	1.2	0.2	1.0
Construction and extraction occupations	5,023	11	1	10	6.2	0.6	0.1	0.8	0.2	0.0	0.2
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3,372	11	4	7	4.2	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.3	0.1	0.2
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	13,543	153	67	86	16.8	8.4	12.3	6.7	1.1	0.5	0.6
Production occupations	6,913	48	19	29	8.6	2.6	3.5	2.3	0.7	0.3	0.4
Transportation and material moving occupations	6,630	105	48	57	8.2	5.7	8.8	4.5	1.6	0.7	0.9
Note: Data exclude all self-employed persons whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 5. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage, by industry, 2017 annual averages
Industry	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percentage of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			At or below minimum wage
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage
Total, 16 years and older	80,439	1,824	542	1,282	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.3	0.7	1.6
Private sector	70,794	1,744	514	1,230	88.0	95.6	94.8	96.0	2.5	0.7	1.7
Agriculture and related industries	886	6	0	6	1.1	0.4	0.0	0.5	0.7	0.0	0.7
Nonagricultural industries	69,908	1,737	514	1,223	86.9	95.3	94.8	95.5	2.5	0.7	1.8
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction	397	1	1	1	0.5	0.1	0.2	0.0	0.4	0.2	0.1
Construction	5,294	14	2	13	6.6	0.8	0.3	1.0	0.3	0.0	0.2
Manufacturing	9,274	52	21	31	11.5	2.9	3.8	2.4	0.6	0.2	0.3
Durable goods	5,680	34	11	23	7.1	1.8	1.9	1.8	0.6	0.2	0.4
Nondurable goods	3,594	19	10	8	4.5	1.0	1.9	0.6	0.5	0.3	0.2
Wholesale and retail trade	12,922	207	138	69	16.1	11.4	25.5	5.4	1.6	1.1	0.5
Wholesale trade	1,658	7	4	3	2.1	0.4	0.8	0.2	0.4	0.2	0.2
Retail trade	11,265	200	134	66	14.0	11.0	24.7	5.2	1.8	1.2	0.6
Transportation and utilities	3,684	25	9	17	4.6	1.4	1.6	1.3	0.7	0.2	0.4
Information	1,086	6	4	2	1.3	0.3	0.7	0.2	0.5	0.3	0.2
Financial activities	3,545	24	11	14	4.4	1.3	2.0	1.1	0.7	0.3	0.4
Professional and business services	6,607	63	30	33	8.2	3.5	5.5	2.6	1.0	0.5	0.5
Education and health services	13,813	159	62	97	17.2	8.7	11.4	7.6	1.2	0.4	0.7
Leisure and hospitality	10,015	1,105	213	893	12.5	60.6	39.2	69.7	11.0	2.1	8.9
Other services	3,271	79	25	54	4.1	4.4	4.6	4.2	2.4	0.8	1.7
Public sector	9,645	80	28	52	12.0	4.4	5.2	4.0	0.8	0.3	0.5
Federal	1,807	13	6	8	2.2	0.7	1.0	0.6	0.7	0.3	0.4
State	2,935	20	9	11	3.6	1.1	1.7	0.9	0.7	0.3	0.4
Local	4,903	46	13	33	6.1	2.5	2.5	2.6	0.9	0.3	0.7
Note: Data exclude all self-employed persons whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 6. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage, by educational attainment, 2017 annual averages
Educational attainment	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percentage of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			At or below minimum wage
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage
Total, 16 years and older	80,439	1,824	542	1,282	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.3	0.7	1.6
Less than a high school diploma	9,608	415	206	209	11.9	22.8	38.0	16.3	4.3	2.1	2.2
Less than 1 year of high school	2,734	46	20	27	3.4	2.5	3.6	2.1	1.7	0.7	1.0
1 to 3 years of high school	5,576	325	164	161	6.9	17.8	30.3	12.6	5.8	2.9	2.9
4 years of high school, no diploma	1,298	43	22	21	1.6	2.4	4.1	1.6	3.3	1.7	1.6
High school graduates or more	70,831	1,408	336	1,072	88.1	77.2	62.0	83.7	2.0	0.5	1.5
High school graduates, no college	26,851	554	157	397	33.4	30.4	28.9	31.0	2.1	0.6	1.5
Some college or associate degree	27,877	672	161	511	34.7	36.8	29.7	39.9	2.4	0.6	1.8
Some college, no degree	17,995	526	132	394	22.4	28.8	24.3	30.7	2.9	0.7	2.2
Associate degree	9,882	146	29	117	12.3	8.0	5.3	9.2	1.5	0.3	1.2
Occupational program	4,264	66	16	50	5.3	3.6	3.0	3.9	1.5	0.4	1.2
Academic program	5,618	80	13	67	7.0	4.4	2.4	5.3	1.4	0.2	1.2
Bachelor's degree and higher	16,104	183	19	164	20.0	10.0	3.4	12.8	1.1	0.1	1.0
Bachelor's degree	12,357	148	16	132	15.4	8.1	2.9	10.3	1.2	0.1	1.1
Master's degree	2,985	25	1	24	3.7	1.4	0.1	1.9	0.8	0.0	0.8
Professional degree	331	3	0	3	0.4	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.9	0.1	0.8
Doctoral degree	432	6	2	5	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.4	1.5	0.4	1.1
Note: Data exclude all self-employed persons whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 7. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage, by age and gender, 2017 annual averages
Age and gender	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percentage of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			At or below minimum wage
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage
Total
Total, 16 years and older	80,439	1,824	542	1,282	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.3	0.7	1.6
16 to 24 years	15,974	891	321	569	19.9	48.8	59.2	44.4	5.6	2.0	3.6
16 to 19 years	4,660	388	172	215	5.8	21.3	31.8	16.8	8.3	3.7	4.6
20 to 24 years	11,314	503	149	354	14.1	27.6	27.4	27.6	4.4	1.3	3.1
25 years and older	64,465	933	221	712	80.1	51.2	40.8	55.6	1.4	0.3	1.1
25 to 34 years	19,269	415	76	338	24.0	22.7	14.1	26.4	2.2	0.4	1.8
25 to 29 years	10,563	264	46	218	13.1	14.5	8.6	17.0	2.5	0.4	2.1
30 to 34 years	8,706	150	30	120	10.8	8.2	5.5	9.4	1.7	0.3	1.4
35 to 44 years	14,620	210	47	162	18.2	11.5	8.7	12.7	1.4	0.3	1.1
35 to 39 years	7,756	105	22	82	9.6	5.8	4.1	6.4	1.4	0.3	1.1
40 to 44 years	6,864	105	25	80	8.5	5.7	4.6	6.2	1.5	0.4	1.2
45 to 54 years	14,793	158	38	121	18.4	8.7	6.9	9.4	1.1	0.3	0.8
45 to 49 years	7,420	88	19	69	9.2	4.8	3.6	5.3	1.2	0.3	0.9
50 to 54 years	7,373	70	18	52	9.2	3.9	3.4	4.1	1.0	0.2	0.7
55 to 64 years	11,865	105	42	62	14.8	5.7	7.8	4.9	0.9	0.4	0.5
55 to 59 years	6,983	71	26	45	8.7	3.9	4.8	3.5	1.0	0.4	0.6
60 to 64 years	4,881	33	16	17	6.1	1.8	3.0	1.3	0.7	0.3	0.3
65 years and older	3,918	46	18	29	4.9	2.5	3.2	2.2	1.2	0.4	0.7
65 to 69 years	2,299	25	10	15	2.9	1.4	1.9	1.2	1.1	0.4	0.6
70 years and older	1,619	21	7	14	2.0	1.2	1.3	1.1	1.3	0.4	0.9
Men
Total, 16 years and older	39,781	678	226	452	49.5	37.2	41.6	35.3	1.7	0.6	1.1
16 to 24 years	8,009	329	131	198	10.0	18.0	24.1	15.5	4.1	1.6	2.5
16 to 19 years	2,252	146	65	81	2.8	8.0	12.1	6.3	6.5	2.9	3.6
20 to 24 years	5,757	183	65	117	7.2	10.0	12.0	9.1	3.2	1.1	2.0
25 years and older	31,772	349	95	254	39.5	19.1	17.5	19.8	1.1	0.3	0.8
25 to 34 years	9,919	155	38	117	12.3	8.5	7.0	9.1	1.6	0.4	1.2
25 to 29 years	5,423	98	25	73	6.7	5.4	4.6	5.7	1.8	0.5	1.4
30 to 34 years	4,496	57	13	43	5.6	3.1	2.5	3.4	1.3	0.3	1.0
35 to 44 years	7,432	77	18	59	9.2	4.2	3.3	4.6	1.0	0.2	0.8
35 to 39 years	4,020	36	7	30	5.0	2.0	1.2	2.3	0.9	0.2	0.7
40 to 44 years	3,412	40	11	29	4.2	2.2	2.1	2.2	1.2	0.3	0.8
45 to 54 years	7,152	56	13	43	8.9	3.1	2.4	3.4	0.8	0.2	0.6
45 to 49 years	3,594	28	5	23	4.5	1.5	0.9	1.8	0.8	0.1	0.7
50 to 54 years	3,558	28	8	20	4.4	1.5	1.5	1.6	0.8	0.2	0.6
55 to 64 years	5,504	40	20	20	6.8	2.2	3.7	1.6	0.7	0.4	0.4
55 to 59 years	3,272	28	14	14	4.1	1.5	2.5	1.1	0.8	0.4	0.4
60 to 64 years	2,232	12	6	6	2.8	0.7	1.1	0.5	0.6	0.3	0.3
65 years and older	1,766	21	6	16	2.2	1.2	1.1	1.2	1.2	0.3	0.9
65 to 69 years	1,026	10	3	8	1.3	0.6	0.5	0.6	1.0	0.3	0.8
70 years and older	739	11	3	8	0.9	0.6	0.6	0.6	1.5	0.4	1.0
Women
Total, 16 years and older	40,658	1,146	316	829	50.5	62.8	58.4	64.7	2.8	0.8	2.0
16 to 24 years	7,965	562	190	371	9.9	30.8	35.1	29.0	7.1	2.4	4.7
16 to 19 years	2,409	241	107	134	3.0	13.2	19.7	10.5	10.0	4.4	5.6
20 to 24 years	5,557	320	83	237	6.9	17.6	15.4	18.5	5.8	1.5	4.3
25 years and older	32,693	584	126	458	40.6	32.0	23.2	35.7	1.8	0.4	1.4
25 to 34 years	9,350	260	38	222	11.6	14.2	7.0	17.3	2.8	0.4	2.4
25 to 29 years	5,140	166	22	145	6.4	9.1	4.0	11.3	3.2	0.4	2.8
30 to 34 years	4,210	94	17	77	5.2	5.1	3.1	6.0	2.2	0.4	1.8
35 to 44 years	7,188	133	29	104	8.9	7.3	5.4	8.1	1.9	0.4	1.4
35 to 39 years	3,736	68	16	53	4.6	3.8	2.9	4.1	1.8	0.4	1.4
40 to 44 years	3,452	65	13	51	4.3	3.5	2.5	4.0	1.9	0.4	1.5
45 to 54 years	7,641	102	25	77	9.5	5.6	4.5	6.0	1.3	0.3	1.0
45 to 49 years	3,826	60	15	45	4.8	3.3	2.7	3.5	1.6	0.4	1.2
50 to 54 years	3,815	42	10	32	4.7	2.3	1.8	2.5	1.1	0.3	0.8
55 to 64 years	6,361	65	22	42	7.9	3.6	4.1	3.3	1.0	0.4	0.7
55 to 59 years	3,712	44	12	32	4.6	2.4	2.2	2.5	1.2	0.3	0.9
60 to 64 years	2,650	21	10	11	3.3	1.2	1.9	0.8	0.8	0.4	0.4
65 years and older	2,153	25	12	13	2.7	1.4	2.1	1.0	1.1	0.5	0.6
65 to 69 years	1,273	15	8	7	1.6	0.8	1.4	0.5	1.1	0.6	0.5
70 years and older	880	10	4	6	1.1	0.6	0.7	0.5	1.1	0.4	0.7
Note: Data exclude all self-employed persons whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 8. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage, by marital status, age, and gender, 2017 annual averages
Marital status, age, and gender	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percentage of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			At or below minimum wage
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage
Total
Total, 16 years and older	80,439	1,824	542	1,282	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.3	0.7	1.6
Never married	32,149	1,247	392	855	40.0	68.4	72.3	66.7	3.9	1.2	2.7
16 to 24 years	14,583	841	308	532	18.1	46.1	56.8	41.6	5.8	2.1	3.7
25 years and older	17,566	407	84	323	21.8	22.3	15.5	25.2	2.3	0.5	1.8
25 to 54 years	16,009	390	75	315	19.9	21.4	13.8	24.6	2.4	0.5	2.0
Married, spouse present(1)	35,317	387	99	288	43.9	21.2	18.3	22.5	1.1	0.3	0.8
16 to 24 years	1,063	41	12	29	1.3	2.2	2.1	2.3	3.9	1.1	2.8
25 years and older	34,254	346	88	258	42.6	19.0	16.2	20.2	1.0	0.3	0.8
25 to 54 years	24,514	257	54	204	30.5	14.1	9.9	15.9	1.0	0.2	0.8
Widowed, divorced, or separated(2)	12,973	189	51	139	16.1	10.4	9.3	10.8	1.5	0.4	1.1
16 to 24 years	328	9	1	7	0.4	0.5	0.3	0.6	2.7	0.5	2.3
25 years and older	12,645	180	49	131	15.7	9.9	9.1	10.2	1.4	0.4	1.0
25 to 54 years	8,159	135	33	103	10.1	7.4	6.0	8.0	1.7	0.4	1.3
Men
Total, 16 years and older	39,781	678	226	452	49.5	37.2	41.6	35.3	1.7	0.6	1.1
Never married	16,612	511	166	345	20.7	28.0	30.7	26.9	3.1	1.0	2.1
16 to 24 years	7,404	324	128	196	9.2	17.7	23.6	15.3	4.4	1.7	2.6
25 years and older	9,208	188	39	149	11.4	10.3	7.1	11.6	2.0	0.4	1.6
25 to 54 years	8,511	179	35	144	10.6	9.8	6.5	11.3	2.1	0.4	1.7
Married, spouse present(1)	18,106	114	37	77	22.5	6.2	6.8	6.0	0.6	0.2	0.4
16 to 24 years	469	5	3	2	0.6	0.3	0.5	0.2	1.0	0.6	0.4
25 years and older	17,637	109	34	75	21.9	6.0	6.3	5.8	0.6	0.2	0.4
25 to 54 years	12,603	70	19	52	15.7	3.8	3.4	4.0	0.6	0.1	0.4
Widowed, divorced, or separated(2)	5,064	53	22	31	6.3	2.9	4.1	2.4	1.0	0.4	0.6
16 to 24 years	136	0	0	0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.1	0.2
25 years and older	4,927	53	22	30	6.1	2.9	4.1	2.4	1.1	0.5	0.6
25 to 54 years	3,389	39	16	23	4.2	2.1	2.9	1.8	1.1	0.5	0.7
Women
Total, 16 years and older	40,658	1,146	316	829	50.5	62.8	58.4	64.7	2.8	0.8	2.0
Never married	15,538	736	226	510	19.3	40.4	41.6	39.8	4.7	1.5	3.3
16 to 24 years	7,179	517	180	337	8.9	28.4	33.3	26.3	7.2	2.5	4.7
25 years and older	8,358	219	45	174	10.4	12.0	8.4	13.5	2.6	0.5	2.1
25 to 54 years	7,498	211	40	171	9.3	11.5	7.3	13.3	2.8	0.5	2.3
Married, spouse present(1)	17,212	274	62	211	21.4	15.0	11.5	16.5	1.6	0.4	1.2
16 to 24 years	594	36	9	27	0.7	2.0	1.6	2.1	6.1	1.5	4.6
25 years and older	16,617	237	54	184	20.7	13.0	9.9	14.3	1.4	0.3	1.1
25 to 54 years	11,911	187	35	152	14.8	10.3	6.5	11.9	1.6	0.3	1.3
Widowed, divorced, or separated(2)	7,909	136	28	108	9.8	7.5	5.2	8.4	1.7	0.4	1.4
16 to 24 years	192	9	1	7	0.2	0.5	0.2	0.6	4.4	0.7	3.8
25 years and older	7,717	128	27	101	9.6	7.0	5.0	7.9	1.7	0.3	1.3
25 to 54 years	4,770	97	17	80	5.9	5.3	3.2	6.2	2.0	0.4	1.7
Footnotes (1) Refers to people in opposite-sex married couples only. (2) Separated includes people who are married, spouse absent.
Note: Data exclude all self-employed workers, whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 9. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage, by usual hours worked per week on primary job, 2017 annual averages
Usual hours worked per week on primary job	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percentage of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			Total paid hourly rates	At or below minimum wage			At or below minimum wage
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage	Total	At minimum wage	Below minimum wage
Total, 16 years and older	80,439	1,824	542	1,282	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.3	0.7	1.6
Hours vary	4,444	160	43	117	5.5	8.8	7.9	9.1	3.6	1.0	2.6
0 to 34 hours	18,526	1,094	379	716	23.0	60.0	69.8	55.9	5.9	2.0	3.9
0 to 4 hours	381	21	6	15	0.5	1.2	1.1	1.2	5.6	1.6	4.0
5 to 9 hours	996	68	21	47	1.2	3.7	3.8	3.7	6.8	2.1	4.7
10 to 14 hours	1,710	116	54	63	2.1	6.4	9.9	4.9	6.8	3.1	3.7
15 to 19 hours	2,341	158	67	91	2.9	8.7	12.4	7.1	6.7	2.9	3.9
20 to 24 hours	5,427	319	123	196	6.7	17.5	22.7	15.3	5.9	2.3	3.6
25 to 29 hours	2,879	168	60	108	3.6	9.2	11.1	8.4	5.8	2.1	3.7
30 to 34 hours	4,791	243	47	196	6.0	13.3	8.8	15.3	5.1	1.0	4.1
35 hours or more	57,470	569	121	449	71.4	31.2	22.2	35.0	1.0	0.2	0.8
35 to 39 hours	5,864	153	31	122	7.3	8.4	5.7	9.5	2.6	0.5	2.1
40 hours or more	51,606	416	90	327	64.2	22.8	16.5	25.5	0.8	0.2	0.6
40 hours	44,481	363	84	279	55.3	19.9	15.5	21.8	0.8	0.2	0.6
41 hours or more	7,125	53	5	48	8.9	2.9	1.0	3.7	0.7	0.1	0.7
41 to 44 hours	741	4	1	3	0.9	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.6	0.2	0.4
45 to 48 hours	2,416	27	1	25	3.0	1.5	0.3	2.0	1.1	0.1	1.1
49 to 59 hours	2,731	16	1	15	3.4	0.9	0.1	1.2	0.6	0.0	0.6
60 hours or more	1,238	6	2	3	1.5	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.3
Note: Data exclude all self-employed persons whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Estimates of usual hours worked presented in this table differ from usual full- or part-time status (as shown in table 1) because of a sizable number of workers whose usual hours vary on the primary job. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 10. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below prevailing federal minimum wage, by gender, 1979-2017 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Year and gender	Total wage and salary workers	Workers paid hourly rates
		Total	Percentage of total wage and salary workers	At prevailing federal minimum wage(1)	Below prevailing federal minimum wage(1)	Total at or below prevailing federal minimum wage
		Total	Percentage of total wage and salary workers	At prevailing federal minimum wage(1)	Below prevailing federal minimum wage(1)	Number	Percentage of hourly paid workers
Total
1979	87,529	51,721	59.1	3,997	2,916	6,912	13.4
1980	87,644	51,335	58.6	4,686	3,087	7,773	15.1
1981	88,516	51,869	58.6	4,311	3,513	7,824	15.1
1982	87,368	50,846	58.2	4,148	2,348	6,496	12.8
1983	88,290	51,820	58.7	4,261	2,077	6,338	12.2
1984	92,194	54,143	58.7	4,125	1,838	5,963	11.0
1985	94,521	55,762	59.0	3,899	1,639	5,538	9.9
1986	96,903	57,529	59.4	3,461	1,599	5,060	8.8
1987	99,303	59,552	60.0	3,229	1,468	4,698	7.9
1988	101,407	60,878	60.0	2,608	1,319	3,927	6.5
1989	103,480	62,389	60.3	1,790	1,372	3,162	5.1
1990	104,876	63,172	60.2	1,096	2,132	3,228	5.1
1991	103,723	62,627	60.4	2,906	2,377	5,283	8.4
1992	104,668	63,610	60.8	2,982	1,939	4,921	7.7
1993	106,101	64,274	60.6	2,625	1,707	4,332	6.7
1994	107,989	66,549	61.6	2,132	1,995	4,128	6.2
1995	110,038	68,354	62.1	1,956	1,699	3,656	5.3
1996	111,960	69,255	61.9	1,861	1,863	3,724	5.4
1997	114,533	70,735	61.8	1,764	2,990	4,754	6.7
1998	116,730	71,440	61.2	1,593	2,834	4,427	6.2
1999	118,963	72,306	60.8	1,146	2,194	3,340	4.6
2000	122,089	73,496	60.2	898	1,752	2,650	3.6
2001	122,229	73,392	60.0	656	1,518	2,174	3.0
2002	121,826	72,508	59.5	567	1,579	2,146	3.0
2003	122,358	72,946	59.6	545	1,555	2,100	2.9
2004	123,554	73,939	59.8	520	1,483	2,003	2.7
2005	125,889	75,609	60.1	479	1,403	1,882	2.5
2006	128,237	76,514	59.7	409	1,283	1,692	2.2
2007	129,767	75,873	58.5	267	1,462	1,729	2.3
2008	129,377	75,305	58.2	286	1,940	2,226	3.0
2009	124,490	72,611	58.3	980	2,592	3,572	4.9
2010	124,073	72,902	58.8	1,820	2,541	4,361	6.0
2011	125,187	73,926	59.1	1,677	2,152	3,829	5.2
2012	127,577	75,276	59.0	1,566	1,984	3,550	4.7
2013	129,110	75,948	58.8	1,532	1,768	3,301	4.3
2014	131,431	77,207	58.7	1,255	1,737	2,992	3.9
2015	133,743	78,232	58.5	870	1,691	2,561	3.3
2016	136,101	79,883	58.7	701	1,451	2,153	2.7
2017	137,890	80,439	58.3	542	1,282	1,824	2.3
Men
1979	49,400	28,392	57.5	1,353	846	2,199	7.7
1980	48,700	27,709	56.9	1,696	983	2,678	9.7
1981	48,844	27,576	56.5	1,533	1,119	2,652	9.6
1982	47,591	26,481	55.6	1,587	697	2,284	8.6
1983	47,856	26,831	56.1	1,658	585	2,243	8.4
1984	50,022	28,140	56.3	1,626	490	2,116	7.5
1985	51,015	28,893	56.6	1,544	440	1,984	6.9
1986	51,942	29,666	57.1	1,336	408	1,743	5.9
1987	52,938	30,474	57.6	1,283	364	1,647	5.4
1988	53,912	31,058	57.6	1,066	311	1,377	4.4
1989	54,789	31,687	57.8	733	379	1,112	3.5
1990	55,553	32,104	57.8	385	712	1,097	3.4
1991	54,618	31,639	57.9	1,114	795	1,909	6.0
1992	54,826	32,155	58.6	1,231	653	1,885	5.9
1993	55,475	32,337	58.3	1,091	573	1,664	5.1
1994	56,570	33,528	59.3	891	674	1,565	4.7
1995	57,669	34,420	59.7	796	542	1,338	3.9
1996	58,473	34,838	59.6	755	619	1,374	3.9
1997	59,825	35,521	59.4	673	1,147	1,820	5.1
1998	60,973	35,761	58.7	628	1,039	1,667	4.7
1999	61,914	36,073	58.3	446	768	1,214	3.4
2000	63,662	36,720	57.7	319	582	901	2.5
2001	63,647	36,544	57.4	247	497	744	2.0
2002	63,272	36,000	56.9	217	582	799	2.2
2003	63,236	35,853	56.7	213	493	706	2.0
2004	64,145	36,806	57.4	210	470	680	1.8
2005	65,466	37,652	57.5	189	459	648	1.7
2006	66,811	38,193	57.2	146	422	568	1.5
2007	67,468	37,790	56.0	86	460	546	1.4
2008	66,846	37,334	55.9	90	638	728	1.9
2009	63,539	35,185	55.4	368	990	1,358	3.9
2010	63,531	35,498	55.9	669	943	1,612	4.5
2011	64,686	36,457	56.4	648	785	1,433	3.9
2012	65,898	37,113	56.3	567	696	1,263	3.4
2013	66,794	37,544	56.2	622	621	1,243	3.3
2014	68,048	38,405	56.4	516	598	1,114	2.9
2015	69,298	38,732	55.9	330	629	959	2.5
2016	70,589	39,568	56.1	270	499	769	1.9
2017	71,469	39,781	55.7	226	452	678	1.7
Women
1979	38,129	23,329	61.2	2,644	2,070	4,714	20.2
1980	38,944	23,626	60.7	2,990	2,104	5,095	21.6
1981	39,672	24,294	61.2	2,778	2,394	5,172	21.3
1982	39,777	24,365	61.3	2,561	1,651	4,212	17.3
1983	40,433	24,989	61.8	2,603	1,492	4,095	16.4
1984	42,172	26,003	61.7	2,499	1,348	3,847	14.8
1985	43,506	26,869	61.8	2,356	1,198	3,554	13.2
1986	44,961	27,863	62.0	2,125	1,192	3,317	11.9
1987	46,365	29,078	62.7	1,946	1,105	3,051	10.5
1988	47,495	29,820	62.8	1,542	1,008	2,550	8.6
1989	48,691	30,702	63.1	1,056	994	2,050	6.7
1990	49,323	31,069	63.0	711	1,420	2,131	6.9
1991	49,105	30,988	63.1	1,792	1,582	3,374	10.9
1992	49,842	31,454	63.1	1,751	1,286	3,036	9.7
1993	50,626	31,937	63.1	1,534	1,133	2,667	8.4
1994	51,419	33,021	64.2	1,241	1,322	2,563	7.8
1995	52,369	33,934	64.8	1,161	1,157	2,318	6.8
1996	53,488	34,418	64.3	1,106	1,244	2,350	6.8
1997	54,708	35,214	64.4	1,092	1,843	2,935	8.3
1998	55,757	35,680	64.0	965	1,794	2,760	7.7
1999	57,050	36,233	63.5	700	1,426	2,126	5.9
2000	58,427	36,777	62.9	579	1,170	1,749	4.8
2001	58,582	36,848	62.9	409	1,021	1,430	3.9
2002	58,555	36,508	62.3	350	997	1,347	3.7
2003	59,122	37,093	62.7	332	1,062	1,394	3.8
2004	59,408	37,133	62.5	310	1,013	1,323	3.6
2005	60,423	37,957	62.8	290	944	1,234	3.3
2006	61,426	38,321	62.4	263	861	1,124	2.9
2007	62,299	38,082	61.1	181	1,002	1,183	3.1
2008	62,532	37,972	60.7	196	1,302	1,498	3.9
2009	60,951	37,426	61.4	612	1,603	2,215	5.9
2010	60,542	37,404	61.8	1,151	1,598	2,749	7.3
2011	60,502	37,469	61.9	1,029	1,366	2,395	6.4
2012	61,679	38,163	61.9	999	1,288	2,287	6.0
2013	62,316	38,404	61.6	910	1,148	2,058	5.4
2014	63,383	38,802	61.2	739	1,139	1,878	4.8
2015	64,445	39,500	61.3	540	1,062	1,602	4.1
2016	65,512	40,315	61.5	432	952	1,384	3.4
2017	66,421	40,658	61.2	316	829	1,146	2.8
Footnotes (1) Data for 1990-1991, 1996-1997, and 2007-2009 reflect changes in the minimum wage that took place in those years.
Note: The comparability of historical labor force data has been affected at various times by methodological and conceptual changes in the Current Population Survey (CPS). Information about historical comparability is available at https://www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#comp. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Technical Notes

The estimates in this report were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. The survey is conducted monthly for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau using a scientifically selected national sample of about 60,000 eligible households in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The survey also provides data on earnings, which are based on one-fourth of the CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers, both incorporated and unincorporated, are excluded from these earnings estimates.

Material in this report is in the public domain and may be used without permission. This information is available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice telephone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Concepts and definitions

The principal definitions used in connection with the estimates of minimum wage workers presented in this report are described briefly below.

Wage and salary workers. These are those age 16 and older who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payments in kind, or piece rates on their sole or principal job. This group includes employees in both the private and public sectors. All self-employed workers are excluded whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

Workers paid by the hour. These are wage and salary workers who report that they are paid at an hourly rate on their job. Historically, workers paid an hourly wage have made up approximately three-fifths of all wage and salary workers. Estimates of workers paid by the hour include both full- and part-time workers unless otherwise specified.

Hourly earnings. Data are for wage and salary workers who are paid by the hour and refer to a person’s sole or principal job. Hourly earnings for hourly paid workers do not include overtime pay, commissions, or tips received.

Workers paid at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage. The estimates of the numbers of workers with reported earnings at or below the federal minimum wage pertain only to workers who are paid hourly rates. Salaried workers and the other nonhourly paid workers are excluded.

Regular collection of earnings data in the basic CPS began in 1979. The prevailing federal minimum wage for 1979 and later years is listed below:

Federal minimum wage	Effective date
$2.90	January 1, 1979
$3.10	January 1, 1980
$3.35	January 1, 1981
$3.80	April 1, 1990
$4.25	April 1, 1991
$4.75	October 1, 1996
$5.15	September 1, 1997
$5.85	July 24, 2007
$6.55	July 24, 2008
$7.25	July 24, 2009

Estimates of the annual average number of minimum wage workers for years when the minimum wage increased reflect both minimum wage levels in effect during the year. For example, data for 2007 reflect the number of workers at or below the federal minimum of $5.15 for January to July and $5.85 for August to December.

Full-time workers. People who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job are defined as working full time.

Part-time workers. People who usually work fewer than 35 hours per week at their sole or principal job are defined as working part time.

Race. In the survey process, race is determined by the household respondent. In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget guidelines, White, Black or African American, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander are terms used to describe a person’s race. The latter two race groups and people who selected more than one race are included in totals but not separately identified in this report because the number of survey respondents is too small to develop estimates of sufficient quality.

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. These are people who identified themselves in the survey process as being of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. People whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.

Interpreting minimum wage data

The CPS does not determine whether workers are covered by the minimum wage provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or by individual state or local minimum wage laws. The estimates of workers paid at or below the federal minimum wage are based solely on the hourly wage that respondents report (which does not include overtime pay, tips, or commissions). It should be noted that some respondents might round hourly earnings when answering survey questions. As a result, some workers might be reported as having hourly earnings above or below the federal minimum wage when, in fact, they earn the minimum wage.

Some workers reported as earning at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage may not, in fact, be covered by federal or state minimum wage laws because of exclusions and exemptions in the statutes. Thus, the presence of workers with hourly earnings below the federal minimum wage does not necessarily indicate violations of the FLSA or state statutes in cases where such standards apply.

Estimates of the number of minimum wage workers in this report pertain only to workers who are paid hourly rates. Salaried workers and other workers who are not paid by the hour are excluded, even though some have earnings that, if converted to hourly rates, would be at or below the federal minimum wage. Consequently, the estimates presented in this report likely underestimate the actual number of workers with hourly earnings at or below the minimum wage. BLS does not routinely estimate the hourly earnings of workers not paid by the hour because of data-quality concerns associated with constructing such an estimate.

A number of states have established minimum wage rates that exceed the federal level. (Information on state minimum wage laws is available at www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm.) Users should be cautious about comparing state estimates in this report because of differing statutory minimum wages. It also should be noted that the CPS sample is based on residence; workers report their earnings on their job, which may or may not be located in the same state in which they live. In addition, the degree of sampling error may be quite large for some state estimates.

Reliability

Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the true population values they represent. The component of this difference that occurs because samples differ by chance is known as sampling error, and its variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the true population value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.

The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. For example, respondents may round their hourly earnings to whole dollars when answering survey questions.

Information about the reliability of data from the CPS is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.