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Apr 01, 2025

Question of the Day: What percent of hourly workers in the U.S. earn the federal minimum wage?

$7.25 per hour is the wage floor for most hourly workers. How common is that minimum wage?

Answer: 1.1% (the smallest percentage since data collection began in 1979)

A one dollar bill sitting upright on its edge.Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

 

Questions:

  • How does earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour compare to the living costs in different parts of the US?
  • How has the purchasing power of the federal minimum wage changed over time?
  • Many states have set their minimum wage higher than the federal rate. Explore the reasons behind this and discuss the impact on workers and businesses.

 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

 

Behind the numbers (BLS):

"In 2023, 80.5 million workers age 16 and older in the United States were paid at hourly rates, representing 55.7 percent of all wage and salary workers. Among those paid by the hour, 81,000 workers earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. About 789,000 workers had wages below the federal minimum. The percentage of hourly paid workers earning the prevailing federal minimum wage or less edged down from 1.3 percent in 2022 to 1.1 percent in 2023. "

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To give your students an edge when it comes to planning their finances, check out NGPF's Budgeting unit.

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Attend NGPF Professional Developments and earn Academy Credits on your own time! Check out NGPF On-Demand modules.

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About the Author

Dave Martin

Dave joins NGPF with 15 years of teaching experience in math and computer science. After joining the New York City Teaching Fellows program and earning a Master's degree in Education from Pace University, his teaching career has taken him to New York, New Jersey and a summer in the north of Ghana. Dave firmly believes that financial literacy is vital to creating well-rounded students that are prepared for a complex and highly competitive world. During what free time two young daughters will allow, Dave enjoys video games, Dungeons & Dragons, cooking, gardening, and taking naps.

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