Which of the following is true of occupations covered in the fair labor standards act?

February 2021 Report 1091

In 2020, 73.3 million workers age 16 and older in the United States were paid at hourly rates, representing 55.5 percent of all wage and salary workers. Among those paid by the hour, 247,000 workers earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. About 865,000 workers had wages below the federal minimum. Together, these 1.1 million workers with wages at or below the federal minimum made up 1.5 percent of all hourly paid workers.

Data on minimum wage workers for 2020 reflect the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the labor market. Comparisons with data on minimum wage workers for earlier years should be interpreted with caution. Large declines in employment in 2020, particularly among low-wage workers, resulted in changes in the hourly earnings distribution. More information on labor market developments in 2020 is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-and-response-on-the-employment-situation-news-release.htm.

The percentage of hourly paid workers earning the prevailing federal minimum wage or less declined from 1.9 percent in 2019 to 1.5 percent in 2020. 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 2020. 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 2020 data:

Age. Minimum wage workers tend to be young. Although workers under age 25 represented just under one-fifth of hourly paid workers, they made up 48 percent of those paid the federal minimum wage or less. Among employed teenagers (ages 16 to 19) paid by the hour, about 5 percent earned the minimum wage or less, compared with 1 percent of workers age 25 and older. (See tables 1 and 7.)

Gender. Among workers who were paid hourly rates in 2020, 2 percent of women and 1 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 2 percent of Black workers earned the federal minimum wage or less. Among White, Asian, and Hispanic workers, the percentage was about 1 percent. (See table 1.)

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

Marital status. Among workers paid an hourly wage, those who were never married were more likely than married workers to earn the federal minimum wage or less (about 3 percent versus about 1 percent). (See table 8.)

Full- and part-time status. About 4 percent of part-time workers (people 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 5 percent. Seven out of ten workers earning the minimum wage or less in 2020 were employed in service occupations, mostly in food preparation and serving related jobs. (See table 4.)

Industry. As has historically been the case, the industry with the highest percentage of workers earning hourly wages at or below the federal minimum wage in 2020 was leisure and hospitality (about 8 percent). Three-fifths of all workers paid at or below the federal minimum wage were employed in this industry, almost entirely in restaurants, bars, 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 federal minimum wage were in the South: about 4 percent for South Carolina and about 3 percent for Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia. Compared with recent years, a relatively large number of states had less than 1 percent of hourly paid workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. It should be noted that more than half of all states have minimum wages that exceed the federal minimum. (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, 2020 annual averagesCharacteristicNumber of workers (in thousands)Percent distributionPercentage of workers paid
hourly ratesTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageAt or below minimum wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wage

Age and gender

Total, 16 years and older

16 to 24 years

16 to 19 years

25 years and older

Men, 16 years and older

16 to 24 years

16 to 19 years

25 years and older

Women, 16 years and older

16 to 24 years

16 to 19 years

25 years and older

Race and Hispanic
or Latino ethnicity

White(1)

Men

Women

Black or African American(1)

Men

Women

Asian(1)

Men

Women

Hispanic or Latino(1)

Men

Women

Full- and part-time status

Full-time workers(2)

Men

Women

Part-time workers(2)

Men

Women

73,305	1,112	247	865	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1.5	0.3	1.2
14,051	529	153	376	19.2	47.6	62.0	43.4	3.8	1.1	2.7
4,352	222	93	129	5.9	19.9	37.5	14.9	5.1	2.1	3.0
59,254	583	94	489	80.8	52.4	38.0	56.6	1.0	0.2	0.8
36,792	369	111	258	50.2	33.2	45.0	29.9	1.0	0.3	0.7
7,059	159	65	94	9.6	14.3	26.3	10.9	2.3	0.9	1.3
2,125	81	41	40	2.9	7.3	16.8	4.6	3.8	1.9	1.9
29,734	210	46	164	40.6	18.9	18.7	19.0	0.7	0.2	0.6
36,513	742	136	607	49.8	66.8	55.0	70.1	2.0	0.4	1.7
6,992	369	88	281	9.5	33.2	35.7	32.5	5.3	1.3	4.0
2,226	141	51	89	3.0	12.7	20.8	10.3	6.3	2.3	4.0
29,521	373	48	325	40.3	33.5	19.3	37.6	1.3	0.2	1.1
55,889	810	178	631	76.2	72.8	72.2	73.0	1.4	0.3	1.1
28,632	266	86	180	39.1	23.9	34.7	20.8	0.9	0.3	0.6
27,257	544	92	451	37.2	48.9	37.5	52.2	2.0	0.3	1.7
10,738	196	50	146	14.6	17.7	20.4	16.9	1.8	0.5	1.4
4,892	57	15	42	6.7	5.1	6.2	4.8	1.2	0.3	0.8
5,846	139	35	104	8.0	12.5	14.1	12.1	2.4	0.6	1.8
3,533	43	3	39	4.8	3.8	1.3	4.5	1.2	0.1	1.1
1,676	23	1	22	2.3	2.1	0.4	2.5	1.4	0.1	1.3
1,857	20	2	18	2.5	1.8	0.9	2.0	1.1	0.1	0.9
16,220	205	46	160	22.1	18.5	18.5	18.5	1.3	0.3	1.0
8,963	82	24	58	12.2	7.3	9.6	6.7	0.9	0.3	0.6
7,257	124	22	102	9.9	11.1	8.8	11.8	1.7	0.3	1.4
55,669	468	72	397	75.9	42.1	29.0	45.8	0.8	0.1	0.7
30,514	150	34	116	41.6	13.5	13.7	13.4	0.5	0.1	0.4
25,156	318	38	281	34.3	28.6	15.3	32.4	1.3	0.2	1.1
17,531	637	175	462	23.9	57.3	71.0	53.4	3.6	1.0	2.6
6,226	216	77	139	8.5	19.5	31.3	16.1	3.5	1.2	2.2
11,305	421	98	323	15.4	37.9	39.7	37.3	3.7	0.9	2.9
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, 2020 annual averagesRegion and divisionNumber of workers (in thousands)Percent distributionPercentage of workers paid
hourly ratesTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageAt or below minimum wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wage

Total, 16 years and older

Northeast

New England

Middle Atlantic

Midwest

East North Central

West North Central

South

South Atlantic

East South Central

West South Central

West

Mountain

Pacific

73,305	1,112	247	865	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1.5	0.3	1.2
11,728	178	39	139	16.0	16.0	15.9	16.1	1.5	0.3	1.2
3,392	43	9	33	4.6	3.8	3.8	3.8	1.3	0.3	1.0
8,336	136	30	106	11.4	12.2	12.1	12.2	1.6	0.4	1.3
17,212	232	44	187	23.5	20.8	18.0	21.6	1.3	0.3	1.1
11,488	162	30	132	15.7	14.6	12.3	15.2	1.4	0.3	1.1
5,724	70	14	56	7.8	6.3	5.7	6.4	1.2	0.2	1.0
26,576	580	138	442	36.3	52.1	56.0	51.0	2.2	0.5	1.7
13,490	288	56	232	18.4	25.9	22.5	26.8	2.1	0.4	1.7
4,314	87	31	57	5.9	7.9	12.6	6.5	2.0	0.7	1.3
8,771	204	52	153	12.0	18.4	20.9	17.7	2.3	0.6	1.7
17,789	122	25	97	24.3	11.0	10.1	11.3	0.7	0.1	0.5
6,055	56	16	40	8.3	5.1	6.5	4.6	0.9	0.3	0.7
11,734	66	9	57	16.0	5.9	3.6	6.6	0.6	0.1	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, 2020 annual averagesStateNumber of workers (in thousands)Percent distributionPercentage of workers paid
hourly ratesTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageAt or below minimum wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wage

Total, 16 years and older

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

73,305	1,112	247	865	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1.5	0.3	1.2
1,137	28	14	14	1.6	2.5	5.8	1.6	2.5	1.3	1.2
170	3	0	3	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.3	1.6	0.2	1.5
1,789	18	4	14	2.4	1.6	1.7	1.6	1.0	0.2	0.8
673	10	2	8	0.9	0.9	0.6	0.9	1.4	0.2	1.2
8,548	48	7	41	11.7	4.3	3.0	4.7	0.6	0.1	0.5
1,305	8	2	6	1.8	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.1	0.5
862	11	4	7	1.2	1.0	1.6	0.8	1.2	0.4	0.8
245	6	0	6	0.3	0.5	0.1	0.7	2.4	0.1	2.4
79	1	0	1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.8	0.2	1.6
4,279	75	7	68	5.8	6.8	2.9	7.9	1.8	0.2	1.6
2,196	46	23	23	3.0	4.1	9.4	2.6	2.1	1.1	1.0
303	2	0	2	0.4	0.2	0.0	0.2	0.7	0.0	0.7
479	7	2	4	0.7	0.6	1.0	0.5	1.4	0.5	0.9
2,813	31	6	25	3.8	2.8	2.6	2.8	1.1	0.2	0.9
1,659	24	7	16	2.3	2.1	2.9	1.9	1.4	0.4	1.0
861	12	4	8	1.2	1.1	1.6	0.9	1.4	0.4	0.9
805	18	5	13	1.1	1.6	2.1	1.5	2.2	0.6	1.6
1,011	17	6	10	1.4	1.5	2.6	1.2	1.7	0.6	1.0
990	34	11	23	1.4	3.0	4.3	2.6	3.4	1.1	2.3
352	4	1	2	0.5	0.3	0.5	0.3	1.0	0.3	0.6
1,249	18	0	18	1.7	1.6	0.0	2.1	1.4	0.0	1.4
1,397	19	3	16	1.9	1.7	1.2	1.9	1.4	0.2	1.2
2,416	35	3	32	3.3	3.2	1.2	3.7	1.5	0.1	1.3
1,524	12	0	12	2.1	1.1	0.0	1.4	0.8	0.0	0.8
652	18	6	13	0.9	1.7	2.3	1.5	2.8	0.9	1.9
1,534	17	4	12	2.1	1.5	1.8	1.4	1.1	0.3	0.8
282	1	0	1	0.4	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.5	0.1	0.4
540	5	0	4	0.7	0.4	0.1	0.5	0.9	0.1	0.8
759	5	3	1	1.0	0.4	1.4	0.1	0.6	0.5	0.2
375	5	0	5	0.5	0.4	0.1	0.5	1.3	0.1	1.2
1,581	22	2	20	2.2	2.0	0.8	2.4	1.4	0.1	1.3
449	6	0	6	0.6	0.5	0.0	0.7	1.3	0.0	1.3
3,634	38	3	35	5.0	3.4	1.0	4.1	1.0	0.1	1.0
2,284	40	10	31	3.1	3.6	3.9	3.5	1.8	0.4	1.3
211	3	0	3	0.3	0.3	0.1	0.3	1.3	0.1	1.2
2,931	43	2	41	4.0	3.9	0.9	4.7	1.5	0.1	1.4
859	18	4	14	1.2	1.6	1.8	1.6	2.1	0.5	1.6
943	3	0	3	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.0	0.4
3,121	75	25	50	4.3	6.8	10.3	5.8	2.4	0.8	1.6
264	4	1	3	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.3	1.4	0.3	1.1
1,079	48	3	44	1.5	4.3	1.4	5.1	4.4	0.3	4.1
249	4	0	4	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.4	1.5	0.0	1.5
1,515	25	5	20	2.1	2.2	1.9	2.3	1.6	0.3	1.3
6,249	143	35	108	8.5	12.9	14.2	12.5	2.3	0.6	1.7
835	9	4	5	1.1	0.8	1.5	0.6	1.1	0.4	0.6
142	1	0	0	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.5	0.1	0.4
1,653	45	11	33	2.3	4.0	4.6	3.8	2.7	0.7	2.0
1,770	10	1	9	2.4	0.9	0.5	1.0	0.5	0.1	0.5
428	9	0	8	0.6	0.8	0.2	1.0	2.0	0.1	1.9
1,668	29	12	18	2.3	2.6	4.7	2.0	1.8	0.7	1.1
158	3	0	3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6
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, 2020 annual averagesOccupationNumber of workers (in thousands)Percent distributionPercentage of workers paid
hourly ratesTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageAt or below minimum wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotal At
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wage

Total, 16 years and older

Management, professional, and related occupations

Management, business, and financial operations occupations

Professional and related occupations

Service occupations

Healthcare support occupations

Protective service occupations

Food preparation and serving related occupations

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

Personal care and service occupations

Sales and office occupations

Sales and related occupations

Office and administrative support occupations

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

Construction and extraction occupations

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations

Production occupations

Transportation and material moving occupations

73,305	1,112	247	865	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1.5	0.3	1.2
17,769	83	20	63	24.2	7.4	8.1	7.2	0.5	0.1	0.4
5,354	16	0	16	7.3	1.4	0.2	1.8	0.3	0.0	0.3
12,415	66	20	47	16.9	6.0	7.9	5.4	0.5	0.2	0.4
16,295	774	114	660	22.2	69.6	46.2	76.3	4.8	0.7	4.1
3,906	60	9	51	5.3	5.4	3.8	5.9	1.5	0.2	1.3
1,972	19	0	18	2.7	1.7	0.1	2.1	0.9	0.0	0.9
5,675	605	73	533	7.7	54.5	29.5	61.6	10.7	1.3	9.4
3,243	29	14	15	4.4	2.6	5.8	1.7	0.9	0.4	0.5
1,499	61	17	44	2.0	5.5	6.9	5.0	4.1	1.1	2.9
16,929	139	70	69	23.1	12.5	28.4	8.0	0.8	0.4	0.4
6,849	90	49	41	9.3	8.1	19.8	4.7	1.3	0.7	0.6
10,080	50	21	28	13.8	4.5	8.6	3.3	0.5	0.2	0.3
8,438	31	4	28	11.5	2.8	1.4	3.2	0.4	0.0	0.3
676	11	4	8	0.9	1.0	1.4	0.9	1.6	0.5	1.1
4,681	14	0	14	6.4	1.3	0.0	1.7	0.3	0.0	0.3
3,081	6	0	6	4.2	0.5	0.0	0.7	0.2	0.0	0.2
13,874	85	39	45	18.9	7.6	15.9	5.2	0.6	0.3	0.3
6,100	34	16	18	8.3	3.1	6.6	2.1	0.6	0.3	0.3
7,773	50	23	28	10.6	4.5	9.3	3.2	0.6	0.3	0.4
Note: Data exclude all self-employed persons whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Effective with January 2020 data, occupations reflect the introduction of the 2018 Census occupational classification system, derived from the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). No historical data have been revised. Data for 2020 are not strictly comparable with earlier years. 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, 2020 annual averagesIndustryNumber of workers (in thousands)Percent distributionPercentage of workers paid
hourly ratesTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageAt or below minimum wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wage

Total, 16 years and older

Private sector

Agriculture and related industries

Nonagricultural industries

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction

Construction

Manufacturing

Durable goods

Nondurable goods

Wholesale and retail trade

Wholesale trade

Retail trade

Transportation and utilities

Information

Financial activities

Professional and business services

Education and health services

Leisure and hospitality

Other services

Public sector

Federal

State

Local

73,305	1,112	247	865	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1.5	0.3	1.2
64,248	1,058	231	827	87.6	95.2	93.7	95.6	1.6	0.4	1.3
847	11	2	9	1.2	1.0	0.9	1.0	1.3	0.3	1.1
63,401	1,047	229	818	86.5	94.2	92.9	94.5	1.7	0.4	1.3
350	3	0	3	0.5	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.8	0.0	0.8
5,059	15	3	12	6.9	1.4	1.2	1.4	0.3	0.1	0.2
8,288	37	16	22	11.3	3.4	6.4	2.5	0.5	0.2	0.3
5,070	24	11	14	6.9	2.2	4.4	1.6	0.5	0.2	0.3
3,218	13	5	8	4.4	1.2	2.0	0.9	0.4	0.2	0.2
11,846	97	47	50	16.2	8.7	19.0	5.8	0.8	0.4	0.4
1,522	5	3	2	2.1	0.4	1.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.1
10,324	92	44	48	14.1	8.3	17.7	5.6	0.9	0.4	0.5
3,826	15	3	12	5.2	1.3	1.1	1.4	0.4	0.1	0.3
877	5	3	2	1.2	0.5	1.2	0.2	0.6	0.3	0.2
3,217	10	2	8	4.4	0.9	0.8	1.0	0.3	0.1	0.3
6,103	27	9	18	8.3	2.4	3.5	2.1	0.4	0.1	0.3
13,146	129	34	95	17.9	11.6	13.7	11.0	1.0	0.3	0.7
7,933	667	103	564	10.8	59.9	41.7	65.2	8.4	1.3	7.1
2,753	42	10	32	3.8	3.8	4.2	3.7	1.5	0.4	1.2
9,057	54	15	38	12.4	4.8	6.3	4.4	0.6	0.2	0.4
1,862	8	1	7	2.5	0.7	0.5	0.8	0.4	0.1	0.4
2,782	17	6	11	3.8	1.5	2.5	1.2	0.6	0.2	0.4
4,413	29	8	21	6.0	2.6	3.3	2.4	0.7	0.2	0.5
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, 2020 annual averagesEducational attainmentNumber of workers (in thousands)Percent distributionPercentage of workers paid
hourly ratesTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageAt or below minimum wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wage

Total, 16 years and older

Less than a high school diploma

Less than 1 year of high school

1 to 3 years of high school

4 years of high school, no diploma

High school graduates or more

High school graduates, no college

Some college or associate degree

Some college, no degree

Associate degree

Occupational program

Academic program

Bachelor's degree and higher

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Professional degree

Doctoral degree

73,305	1,112	247	865	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1.5	0.3	1.2
7,860	170	76	94	10.7	15.3	30.7	10.9	2.2	1.0	1.2
2,217	18	4	14	3.0	1.6	1.4	1.7	0.8	0.2	0.7
4,485	127	62	64	6.1	11.4	25.3	7.4	2.8	1.4	1.4
1,158	25	10	15	1.6	2.2	4.0	1.7	2.1	0.8	1.3
65,445	942	171	771	89.3	84.7	69.3	89.1	1.4	0.3	1.2
24,685	390	85	304	33.7	35.1	34.6	35.2	1.6	0.3	1.2
24,578	390	78	312	33.5	35.1	31.5	36.1	1.6	0.3	1.3
15,310	308	59	249	20.9	27.7	24.0	28.7	2.0	0.4	1.6
9,268	82	19	64	12.6	7.4	7.5	7.4	0.9	0.2	0.7
3,990	28	8	20	5.4	2.5	3.1	2.4	0.7	0.2	0.5
5,277	54	11	43	7.2	4.9	4.4	5.0	1.0	0.2	0.8
16,183	162	8	155	22.1	14.6	3.2	17.9	1.0	0.0	1.0
12,279	123	7	115	16.8	11.0	3.0	13.3	1.0	0.1	0.9
3,122	28	1	27	4.3	2.5	0.2	3.2	0.9	0.0	0.9
341	6	0	6	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.7	1.8	0.0	1.8
441	6	0	6	0.6	0.5	0.0	0.7	1.3	0.0	1.3
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, 2020 annual averagesAge and genderNumber of workers (in thousands)Percent distributionPercentage of workers paid
hourly ratesTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageAt or below minimum wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wage

Total

Total, 16 years and older

16 to 24 years

16 to 19 years

20 to 24 years

25 years and older

25 to 34 years

25 to 29 years

30 to 34 years

35 to 44 years

35 to 39 years

40 to 44 years

45 to 54 years

45 to 49 years

50 to 54 years

55 to 64 years

55 to 59 years

60 to 64 years

65 years and older

65 to 69 years

70 years and older

Men

Total, 16 years and older

16 to 24 years

16 to 19 years

20 to 24 years

25 years and older

25 to 34 years

25 to 29 years

30 to 34 years

35 to 44 years

35 to 39 years

40 to 44 years

45 to 54 years

45 to 49 years

50 to 54 years

55 to 64 years

55 to 59 years

60 to 64 years

65 years and older

65 to 69 years

70 years and older

Women

Total, 16 years and older

16 to 24 years

16 to 19 years

20 to 24 years

25 years and older

25 to 34 years

25 to 29 years

30 to 34 years

35 to 44 years

35 to 39 years

40 to 44 years

45 to 54 years

45 to 49 years

50 to 54 years

55 to 64 years

55 to 59 years

60 to 64 years

65 years and older

65 to 69 years

70 years and older

73,305	1,112	247	865	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1.5	0.3	1.2
14,051	529	153	376	19.2	47.6	62.0	43.4	3.8	1.1	2.7
4,352	222	93	129	5.9	19.9	37.5	14.9	5.1	2.1	3.0
9,699	307	60	247	13.2	27.6	24.5	28.5	3.2	0.6	2.5
59,254	583	94	489	80.8	52.4	38.0	56.6	1.0	0.2	0.8
17,872	250	34	216	24.4	22.5	13.7	25.0	1.4	0.2	1.2
9,571	143	15	128	13.1	12.9	6.0	14.8	1.5	0.2	1.3
8,302	107	19	88	11.3	9.6	7.7	10.1	1.3	0.2	1.1
13,691	130	17	113	18.7	11.7	6.9	13.1	1.0	0.1	0.8
7,111	75	6	69	9.7	6.7	2.6	7.9	1.1	0.1	1.0
6,581	55	11	45	9.0	5.0	4.3	5.2	0.8	0.2	0.7
12,672	93	13	80	17.3	8.4	5.4	9.2	0.7	0.1	0.6
6,379	49	9	40	8.7	4.4	3.8	4.6	0.8	0.1	0.6
6,292	44	4	40	8.6	4.0	1.6	4.6	0.7	0.1	0.6
11,179	75	14	60	15.3	6.7	5.8	7.0	0.7	0.1	0.5
6,304	36	6	30	8.6	3.2	2.6	3.4	0.6	0.1	0.5
4,876	39	8	31	6.7	3.5	3.2	3.5	0.8	0.2	0.6
3,840	35	15	20	5.2	3.2	6.3	2.3	0.9	0.4	0.5
2,228	19	7	12	3.0	1.7	2.8	1.4	0.9	0.3	0.6
1,612	16	9	8	2.2	1.4	3.4	0.9	1.0	0.5	0.5
36,792	369	111	258	50.2	33.2	45.0	29.9	1.0	0.3	0.7
7,059	159	65	94	9.6	14.3	26.3	10.9	2.3	0.9	1.3
2,125	81	41	40	2.9	7.3	16.8	4.6	3.8	1.9	1.9
4,933	78	24	55	6.7	7.0	9.6	6.3	1.6	0.5	1.1
29,734	210	46	164	40.6	18.9	18.7	19.0	0.7	0.2	0.6
9,412	90	14	76	12.8	8.1	5.6	8.8	1.0	0.1	0.8
5,002	53	6	46	6.8	4.7	2.6	5.3	1.0	0.1	0.9
4,410	38	7	30	6.0	3.4	3.0	3.5	0.9	0.2	0.7
7,004	41	9	32	9.6	3.7	3.8	3.7	0.6	0.1	0.5
3,712	19	3	17	5.1	1.7	1.1	1.9	0.5	0.1	0.4
3,292	22	7	15	4.5	2.0	2.6	1.8	0.7	0.2	0.5
6,218	33	11	22	8.5	3.0	4.5	2.5	0.5	0.2	0.4
3,136	20	7	12	4.3	1.8	2.9	1.4	0.6	0.2	0.4
3,082	13	4	10	4.2	1.2	1.6	1.1	0.4	0.1	0.3
5,253	34	8	26	7.2	3.1	3.3	3.0	0.7	0.2	0.5
2,965	14	4	10	4.0	1.3	1.6	1.1	0.5	0.1	0.3
2,288	20	4	16	3.1	1.8	1.7	1.9	0.9	0.2	0.7
1,847	11	4	8	2.5	1.0	1.5	0.9	0.6	0.2	0.4
1,082	7	0	7	1.5	0.7	0.0	0.8	0.7	0.0	0.7
765	4	4	0	1.0	0.4	1.5	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0
36,513	742	136	607	49.8	66.8	55.0	70.1	2.0	0.4	1.7
6,992	369	88	281	9.5	33.2	35.7	32.5	5.3	1.3	4.0
2,226	141	51	89	3.0	12.7	20.8	10.3	6.3	2.3	4.0
4,766	229	37	192	6.5	20.6	14.9	22.2	4.8	0.8	4.0
29,521	373	48	325	40.3	33.5	19.3	37.6	1.3	0.2	1.1
8,460	160	20	140	11.5	14.4	8.1	16.2	1.9	0.2	1.7
4,569	90	8	82	6.2	8.1	3.4	9.5	2.0	0.2	1.8
3,892	69	12	58	5.3	6.2	4.7	6.7	1.8	0.3	1.5
6,687	89	8	81	9.1	8.0	3.1	9.4	1.3	0.1	1.2
3,398	55	4	52	4.6	5.0	1.4	6.0	1.6	0.1	1.5
3,289	34	4	29	4.5	3.0	1.7	3.4	1.0	0.1	0.9
6,454	60	2	58	8.8	5.4	0.8	6.7	0.9	0.0	0.9
3,243	29	2	27	4.4	2.6	0.8	3.2	0.9	0.1	0.8
3,211	31	0	31	4.4	2.7	0.0	3.5	1.0	0.0	1.0
5,926	40	6	34	8.1	3.6	2.5	3.9	0.7	0.1	0.6
3,338	22	2	20	4.6	2.0	0.9	2.3	0.7	0.1	0.6
2,588	18	4	14	3.5	1.6	1.6	1.7	0.7	0.2	0.6
1,993	24	12	12	2.7	2.2	4.7	1.4	1.2	0.6	0.6
1,147	12	7	5	1.6	1.1	2.8	0.6	1.0	0.6	0.4
846	12	5	7	1.2	1.1	1.9	0.8	1.4	0.6	0.9
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, 2020 annual averagesMarital status, age,
and genderNumber of workers (in thousands)Percent distributionPercentage of workers paid
hourly ratesTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageAt or below minimum wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotal At
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wage

Total

Total, 16 years and older

Never married

16 to 24 years

25 years and older

25 to 54 years

Married, spouse present(1)

16 to 24 years

25 years and older

25 to 54 years

Widowed, divorced, or separated(2)

16 to 24 years

25 years and older

25 to 54 years

Men

Total, 16 years and older

Never married

16 to 24 years

25 years and older

25 to 54 years

Married, spouse present(1)

16 to 24 years

25 years and older

25 to 54 years

Widowed, divorced, or separated(2)

16 to 24 years

25 years and older

25 to 54 years

Women

Total, 16 years and older

Never married

16 to 24 years

25 years and older

25 to 54 years

Married, spouse present(1)

16 to 24 years

25 years and older

25 to 54 years

Widowed, divorced, or separated(2)

16 to 24 years

25 years and older

25 to 54 years

73,305	1,112	247	865	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1.5	0.3	1.2
30,236	772	184	589	41.2	69.5	74.4	68.0	2.6	0.6	1.9
12,983	504	144	360	17.7	45.4	58.4	41.6	3.9	1.1	2.8
17,253	268	40	228	23.5	24.1	16.0	26.4	1.6	0.2	1.3
15,619	258	38	220	21.3	23.2	15.3	25.5	1.7	0.2	1.4
31,844	218	38	180	43.4	19.6	15.4	20.8	0.7	0.1	0.6
752	11	4	6	1.0	1.0	1.8	0.7	1.4	0.6	0.8
31,093	207	34	174	42.4	18.7	13.7	20.1	0.7	0.1	0.6
22,003	152	19	134	30.0	13.7	7.6	15.4	0.7	0.1	0.6
11,225	121	25	96	15.3	10.9	10.2	11.1	1.1	0.2	0.9
316	14	5	9	0.4	1.2	1.9	1.1	4.4	1.5	2.9
10,909	108	20	87	14.9	9.7	8.3	10.1	1.0	0.2	0.8
6,613	63	8	55	9.0	5.6	3.1	6.4	0.9	0.1	0.8
36,792	369	111	258	50.2	33.2	45.0	29.9	1.0	0.3	0.7
15,921	259	86	173	21.7	23.3	34.9	20.0	1.6	0.5	1.1
6,584	150	63	87	9.0	13.5	25.5	10.1	2.3	1.0	1.3
9,336	109	23	86	12.7	9.8	9.3	9.9	1.2	0.2	0.9
8,540	106	23	83	11.7	9.6	9.3	9.6	1.2	0.3	1.0
16,462	77	18	60	22.5	6.9	7.1	6.9	0.5	0.1	0.4
328	3	0	3	0.4	0.3	0.0	0.4	1.0	0.0	1.0
16,134	74	18	56	22.0	6.6	7.1	6.5	0.5	0.1	0.3
11,361	43	9	34	15.5	3.9	3.6	4.0	0.4	0.1	0.3
4,409	33	8	26	6.0	3.0	3.1	3.0	0.8	0.2	0.6
146	6	2	4	0.2	0.5	0.8	0.4	4.0	1.3	2.6
4,263	27	6	22	5.8	2.5	2.3	2.5	0.6	0.1	0.5
2,732	15	2	13	3.7	1.3	0.9	1.5	0.5	0.1	0.5
36,513	742	136	607	49.8	66.8	55.0	70.1	2.0	0.4	1.7
14,315	513	98	416	19.5	46.2	39.6	48.1	3.6	0.7	2.9
6,398	354	81	273	8.7	31.9	32.8	31.6	5.5	1.3	4.3
7,917	159	17	143	10.8	14.3	6.7	16.5	2.0	0.2	1.8
7,078	152	15	137	9.7	13.6	5.9	15.8	2.1	0.2	1.9
15,382	141	21	120	21.0	12.7	8.3	13.9	0.9	0.1	0.8
424	7	4	3	0.6	0.7	1.8	0.3	1.7	1.0	0.7
14,959	134	16	117	20.4	12.0	6.6	13.6	0.9	0.1	0.8
10,642	109	10	99	14.5	9.8	4.0	11.5	1.0	0.1	0.9
6,816	88	17	71	9.3	7.9	7.1	8.2	1.3	0.3	1.0
170	8	3	5	0.2	0.7	1.1	0.6	4.7	1.6	3.1
6,645	80	15	65	9.1	7.2	6.0	7.6	1.2	0.2	1.0
3,881	48	5	42	5.3	4.3	2.1	4.9	1.2	0.1	1.1
Footnotes (1) Beginning with data for 2020, refers to people in both opposite-sex and same-sex married couples. Prior to 2020, referred 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, 2020 annual averagesUsual hours worked per week on primary jobNumber of workers (in thousands)Percent distributionPercentage of workers paid
hourly ratesTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageTotal paid
hourly
ratesAt or below minimum wageAt or below minimum wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wageTotalAt
minimum
wageBelow
minimum
wage

Total, 16 years and older

Hours vary

0 to 34 hours

0 to 4 hours

5 to 9 hours

10 to 14 hours

15 to 19 hours

20 to 24 hours

25 to 29 hours

30 to 34 hours

35 hours or more

35 to 39 hours

40 hours or more

40 hours

41 hours or more

41 to 44 hours

45 to 48 hours

49 to 59 hours

60 hours or more

73,305	1,112	247	865	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1.5	0.3	1.2
3,868	130	20	109	5.3	11.7	8.3	12.6	3.3	0.5	2.8
16,160	590	165	425	22.0	53.0	66.8	49.1	3.6	1.0	2.6
276	6	1	6	0.4	0.6	0.3	0.6	2.3	0.3	2.0
770	33	17	16	1.1	3.0	7.0	1.8	4.3	2.2	2.0
1,526	57	28	29	2.1	5.1	11.4	3.3	3.7	1.8	1.9
2,042	86	26	61	2.8	7.7	10.3	7.0	4.2	1.3	3.0
4,657	158	51	108	6.4	14.2	20.5	12.4	3.4	1.1	2.3
2,391	91	21	70	3.3	8.2	8.5	8.1	3.8	0.9	2.9
4,497	158	22	136	6.1	14.2	8.8	15.7	3.5	0.5	3.0
53,277	393	62	331	72.7	35.3	24.9	38.3	0.7	0.1	0.6
5,302	103	14	89	7.2	9.3	5.8	10.3	1.9	0.3	1.7
47,975	290	47	242	65.4	26.0	19.2	28.0	0.6	0.1	0.5
41,652	248	46	202	56.8	22.3	18.8	23.3	0.6	0.1	0.5
6,323	41	1	40	8.6	3.7	0.3	4.6	0.6	0.0	0.6
618	0	0	0	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
2,130	12	1	11	2.9	1.1	0.3	1.3	0.6	0.0	0.5
2,479	23	0	23	3.4	2.1	0.0	2.7	0.9	0.0	0.9
1,096	5	0	5	1.5	0.5	0.0	0.6	0.5	0.0	0.5
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, 1979–2020 annual averages[Numbers in thousands]Year and genderTotal
wage
and
salary
workersWorkers paid hourly ratesTotalPercentage
of total
wage
and
salary
workersAt
prevailing
federal
minimum
wage(1)Below
prevailing
federal
minimum
wage(1)Total at or below
prevailing federal
minimum wageNumberPercentage
of hourly
paid
workers

Total

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Men

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Women

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

87,529	51,721	59.1	3,997	2,916	6,912	13.4
87,644	51,335	58.6	4,686	3,087	7,773	15.1
88,516	51,869	58.6	4,311	3,513	7,824	15.1
87,368	50,846	58.2	4,148	2,348	6,496	12.8
88,290	51,820	58.7	4,261	2,077	6,338	12.2
92,194	54,143	58.7	4,125	1,838	5,963	11.0
94,521	55,762	59.0	3,899	1,639	5,538	9.9
96,903	57,529	59.4	3,461	1,599	5,060	8.8
99,303	59,552	60.0	3,229	1,468	4,698	7.9
101,407	60,878	60.0	2,608	1,319	3,927	6.5
103,480	62,389	60.3	1,790	1,372	3,162	5.1
104,876	63,172	60.2	1,096	2,132	3,228	5.1
103,723	62,627	60.4	2,906	2,377	5,283	8.4
104,668	63,610	60.8	2,982	1,939	4,921	7.7
106,101	64,274	60.6	2,625	1,707	4,332	6.7
107,989	66,549	61.6	2,132	1,995	4,128	6.2
110,038	68,354	62.1	1,956	1,699	3,656	5.3
111,960	69,255	61.9	1,861	1,863	3,724	5.4
114,533	70,735	61.8	1,764	2,990	4,754	6.7
116,730	71,440	61.2	1,593	2,834	4,427	6.2
118,963	72,306	60.8	1,146	2,194	3,340	4.6
122,089	73,496	60.2	898	1,752	2,650	3.6
122,229	73,392	60.0	656	1,518	2,174	3.0
121,826	72,508	59.5	567	1,579	2,146	3.0
122,358	72,946	59.6	545	1,555	2,100	2.9
123,554	73,939	59.8	520	1,483	2,003	2.7
125,889	75,609	60.1	479	1,403	1,882	2.5
128,237	76,514	59.7	409	1,283	1,692	2.2
129,767	75,873	58.5	267	1,462	1,729	2.3
129,377	75,305	58.2	286	1,940	2,226	3.0
124,490	72,611	58.3	980	2,592	3,572	4.9
124,073	72,902	58.8	1,820	2,541	4,361	6.0
125,187	73,926	59.1	1,677	2,152	3,829	5.2
127,577	75,276	59.0	1,566	1,984	3,550	4.7
129,110	75,948	58.8	1,532	1,768	3,301	4.3
131,431	77,207	58.7	1,255	1,737	2,992	3.9
133,743	78,232	58.5	870	1,691	2,561	3.3
136,101	79,883	58.7	701	1,451	2,153	2.7
137,890	80,439	58.3	542	1,282	1,824	2.3
140,099	81,915	58.5	434	1,276	1,711	2.1
141,737	82,289	58.1	392	1,211	1,603	1.9
132,174	73,305	55.5	247	865	1,112	1.5
49,400	28,392	57.5	1,353	846	2,199	7.7
48,700	27,709	56.9	1,696	983	2,678	9.7
48,844	27,576	56.5	1,533	1,119	2,652	9.6
47,591	26,481	55.6	1,587	697	2,284	8.6
47,856	26,831	56.1	1,658	585	2,243	8.4
50,022	28,140	56.3	1,626	490	2,116	7.5
51,015	28,893	56.6	1,544	440	1,984	6.9
51,942	29,666	57.1	1,336	408	1,743	5.9
52,938	30,474	57.6	1,283	364	1,647	5.4
53,912	31,058	57.6	1,066	311	1,377	4.4
54,789	31,687	57.8	733	379	1,112	3.5
55,553	32,104	57.8	385	712	1,097	3.4
54,618	31,639	57.9	1,114	795	1,909	6.0
54,826	32,155	58.6	1,231	653	1,885	5.9
55,475	32,337	58.3	1,091	573	1,664	5.1
56,570	33,528	59.3	891	674	1,565	4.7
57,669	34,420	59.7	796	542	1,338	3.9
58,473	34,838	59.6	755	619	1,374	3.9
59,825	35,521	59.4	673	1,147	1,820	5.1
60,973	35,761	58.7	628	1,039	1,667	4.7
61,914	36,073	58.3	446	768	1,214	3.4
63,662	36,720	57.7	319	582	901	2.5
63,647	36,544	57.4	247	497	744	2.0
63,272	36,000	56.9	217	582	799	2.2
63,236	35,853	56.7	213	493	706	2.0
64,145	36,806	57.4	210	470	680	1.8
65,466	37,652	57.5	189	459	648	1.7
66,811	38,193	57.2	146	422	568	1.5
67,468	37,790	56.0	86	460	546	1.4
66,846	37,334	55.9	90	638	728	1.9
63,539	35,185	55.4	368	990	1,358	3.9
63,531	35,498	55.9	669	943	1,612	4.5
64,686	36,457	56.4	648	785	1,433	3.9
65,898	37,113	56.3	567	696	1,263	3.4
66,794	37,544	56.2	622	621	1,243	3.3
68,048	38,405	56.4	516	598	1,114	2.9
69,298	38,732	55.9	330	629	959	2.5
70,589	39,568	56.1	270	499	769	1.9
71,469	39,781	55.7	226	452	678	1.7
72,632	40,691	56.0	168	464	632	1.6
73,349	40,918	55.8	125	411	536	1.3
68,711	36,792	53.5	111	258	369	1.0
38,129	23,329	61.2	2,644	2,070	4,714	20.2
38,944	23,626	60.7	2,990	2,104	5,095	21.6
39,672	24,294	61.2	2,778	2,394	5,172	21.3
39,777	24,365	61.3	2,561	1,651	4,212	17.3
40,433	24,989	61.8	2,603	1,492	4,095	16.4
42,172	26,003	61.7	2,499	1,348	3,847	14.8
43,506	26,869	61.8	2,356	1,198	3,554	13.2
44,961	27,863	62.0	2,125	1,192	3,317	11.9
46,365	29,078	62.7	1,946	1,105	3,051	10.5
47,495	29,820	62.8	1,542	1,008	2,550	8.6
48,691	30,702	63.1	1,056	994	2,050	6.7
49,323	31,069	63.0	711	1,420	2,131	6.9
49,105	30,988	63.1	1,792	1,582	3,374	10.9
49,842	31,454	63.1	1,751	1,286	3,036	9.7
50,626	31,937	63.1	1,534	1,133	2,667	8.4
51,419	33,021	64.2	1,241	1,322	2,563	7.8
52,369	33,934	64.8	1,161	1,157	2,318	6.8
53,488	34,418	64.3	1,106	1,244	2,350	6.8
54,708	35,214	64.4	1,092	1,843	2,935	8.3
55,757	35,680	64.0	965	1,794	2,760	7.7
57,050	36,233	63.5	700	1,426	2,126	5.9
58,427	36,777	62.9	579	1,170	1,749	4.8
58,582	36,848	62.9	409	1,021	1,430	3.9
58,555	36,508	62.3	350	997	1,347	3.7
59,122	37,093	62.7	332	1,062	1,394	3.8
59,408	37,133	62.5	310	1,013	1,323	3.6
60,423	37,957	62.8	290	944	1,234	3.3
61,426	38,321	62.4	263	861	1,124	2.9
62,299	38,082	61.1	181	1,002	1,183	3.1
62,532	37,972	60.7	196	1,302	1,498	3.9
60,951	37,426	61.4	612	1,603	2,215	5.9
60,542	37,404	61.8	1,151	1,598	2,749	7.3
60,502	37,469	61.9	1,029	1,366	2,395	6.4
61,679	38,163	61.9	999	1,288	2,287	6.0
62,316	38,404	61.6	910	1,148	2,058	5.4
63,383	38,802	61.2	739	1,139	1,878	4.8
64,445	39,500	61.3	540	1,062	1,602	4.1
65,512	40,315	61.5	432	952	1,384	3.4
66,421	40,658	61.2	316	829	1,146	2.8
67,467	41,223	61.1	267	812	1,078	2.6
68,388	41,372	60.5	268	800	1,067	2.6
63,462	36,513	57.5	136	607	742	2.0
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 //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 nationally representative 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, whether or not their businesses are incorporated, are excluded from these earnings estimates.

The 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 are people 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 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 pertain to earnings from 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 include only workers who are paid hourly rates. Salaried workers and 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 in the following table.

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 during the year 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 are defined as those who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not define full- or part-time employment.

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

Race is reported by the household respondent. In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget standards, White, Black or African American, and Asian are terms used to describe a person’s race for the data presented in this report. Data for other race groups--American Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders--and for people of Two or More Races are included in totals but not separately identified in this report because the number of survey respondents is too small to develop estimates of acceptable reliability.

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity refers to people who identified themselves in the survey process as being of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. People who identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be of any race.

Married, spouse present refers to people in both opposite-sex and same-sex marriages living together in the same household.

Other marital status refers to people who are never married; widowed; divorced; separated; or married, spouse absent. Separated includes people with legal separations, those living apart with intentions of obtaining a divorce, and other people permanently or temporarily separated because of marital discord. Married, spouse absent includes both opposite-sex and same-sex married people living apart because either the husband or wife was employed and living at a considerable distance from home, was serving away from home in the Armed Forces, had moved to another area, or had a different place of residence for any other reason except those listed in the previous definition of separated.

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 their 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/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state.) Users should be cautious about comparing state estimates with CPS 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 from 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.

Which of the following is true of key jobs?

Which of the following is not a standard component for the pay of employees?

Which of the following is the definition of compensable factors?

When the compa