The federal minimum wage for nonexempt employees in the United States is $7.25 as of 2023. It’s meant to be a living wage but this isn’t the case in practice. The hourly rate hasn’t kept up with the cost of living since the late 1960s. The earnings of a minimum wage worker with a family of four fall well below the poverty line.
Thirty states and the District of Columbia have minimum wage rates higher than $7.25 as of October 2023, however.
Key Takeaways
- The federal minimum wage has stagnated at $7.25 an hour since 2009.
- Working for minimum wage does not give most people a living wage.
- Many states and cities have a higher minimum wage in place, more than double in some cases, but workers still struggle to make ends meet.
- Proponents of raising the minimum wage maintain that doing so helps incomes keep pace with increasing costs of living and will lift millions out of poverty.
- Opponents believe that higher wages would force businesses to hire fewer people, slash growth plans, and/or raise their prices, which will hurt the economy.
What Is the U.S. Federal Minimum Wage?
The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour or $15,080 a year since 2009. Many economists believe that this is woefully inadequate and unjust. The minimum wage peaked at an inflation-adjusted value of $10.15 in 2018 dollars in 1968, which was worth 28.6% more than the federal minimum wage in 2018.
History of the Federal Minimum Wage
The minimum wage has been a…
