# Who actually earns minimum wage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770 "2004-10-23T15:51:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/1 "2004-10-23T15:51:31Z")
Kerry is talking about raising the minimum wage. I see posters here mention it from time to time. What I wonder is, what percentage of wage workers actually makes minimum wage? Most jobs I see that are “minimum wage jobs” never pay minimum wage. McDonalds near me starts at $7/hr. So who has these jobs? ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/2 "2004-10-23T16:07:40Z")
I’ve worked for a quarter over minimum wage in several jobs. The “university” minmum wage is $5.50 around here. I make more than that now because I have a 40 minute commute, but the difference doesn’t make up the gas money I spend, so I practically make minimum wage. ---
**Author:** ![Burrido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Burrido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burrido)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/3 "2004-10-23T16:12:04Z")
Waitstaff (some even less), some haircut professionals, and I’m guessing anyone who stands to make a significant amount from tips in general. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/4 "2004-10-23T16:23:19Z")
Per citation: “[http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?Id=1603](http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?Id=1603)” > [@](#): > > Data from the 1995 Current Population Survey reveals that of all workers who earned the minimum wage immediately preceding President Clinton’s 1996 increase, 37.6% were teenagers living with their parents, 17.1% were single adults living alone, 21.5% were adults who were married to a spouse who also worked. Only 5.5% of all minimum wage workers were single parents, and only 7.8% were married and the sole wage earner for their household, which may or may not have included children Also, from: “[http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issueguides\_minwage\_minwagefaq](http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issueguides_minwage_minwagefaq)” We learn that: > [@](#): > > An estimated 7.4 million workers (5.9% of the workforce) would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage to $7.00 by April 2006. Of these workers, 72% are adults and 60.9% are women. Close to half (44.0%) work full time and another third (33.3%) work between 20 and 34 hours per week. Almost one-third (31%) of the workers who would benefit from an increase to $7.00 are parents of children under age 18, including 682,000 single parents. The average minimum wage worker brings home about half of his or her family’s weekly earnings. While I cannot provide a cite, my impression based on the googling I just did is that most jobs paying minimum wage are in retail, agriculture or food service. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/5 "2004-10-23T16:23:34Z")
Small buisnesses, most burger flipping places, jobs ment to be stepping stones to better jobs, or jobs taken by semi retired senior citizens. Actually, you have to remember, A lot, if not all, states have minimum wages above the national. Here in Oregon, for example, the minimum wage is $7.05 and in January will increase to $7.25. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/6 "2004-10-23T16:29:38Z")
I do. And Arkansas doesn’t have a higher minimum wage than the national one. I make 5.15 an hour. Yup. But, I don’t have to drive, since it’s on-campus. And I sit on my ass most of the day. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/7 "2004-10-23T16:32:01Z")
Thank you very much, **Jonathan**. 5.9% of the workforce earning the bare minimum… wow. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/8 "2004-10-23T16:33:20Z")
Well, that’s not what the cite said, it said that that many would benefit from having it move to 7. Still… an impressive number. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/9 "2004-10-23T18:36:21Z")
I notice that you live in Massachusetts, erislover. You live in a state with a higher than average cost of living. In such states, very few people earn minimum wage. In states with lower than average cost of living, more people earn minimum wage. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/10 "2004-10-23T19:02:56Z")
Substitute school teachers (where I live) their take home pay for a 8 hour workday is $42.00 before taxes. With a college degree they pay $45/day. A teaching certificate earns you another $5. That’s a whopping $50/day for a full time certified substitute teacher. Less than a $1000/mth. see footnote Starting full-time (contracted) teachers pay is $23K/year. Now you know why I quit teaching. ☹ \*The school district has a habit of hiring full time subs instead of contracting teachers to work. I know this for a fact because they pulled that crap on me. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/11 "2004-10-23T19:18:05Z")
I recently read the book [Nickeled and Dimed: On Not Getting by in America](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805063897/qid=1098559109/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-2968663-1232116?v=glance&s=books) by Barbara Ehrenreich. She got low paying (although not necessarily minimum wage) jobs in several different cities in America to see if she could get by on the pay from the types of jobs people with few or no marketable skills have to get. She ended up taking such jobs as have been mentioned (waitress, Wal-Mart) as well as working as a maid at tourist motels, and working for a house cleaning franchise. I recommend the book if you are at all interested in the subject. It is a good read whatever your economic viewpoint. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/12 "2004-10-23T19:57:22Z")
> [@erislover](#): > > Well, that’s not what the cite said, it said that that many would benefit from having it move to 7. Still… an impressive number. Of course, not all of those people currently making between $5.15 to $6.99 an hour would benefit from a raise in the minimum wage - some of those workers would be unprofitable to hire at $7 per hour, and would thus find themselves unemployed. ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/13 "2004-10-23T20:25:57Z")
> [@Jonathan Woodall](#): > > An estimated 7.4 million workers (5.9% of the workforce) would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage to $7.00 Whatever the number of workers in the country in unions is the number that would benefit from a minimum wage increase, which is probably a ton. Everyone in a union has their pay based off of minimum wage, and if we raise it everyone gets a pay raise. If a bottom-level employee is making $5 and his manager $7 an hour, well after a minimum wage increase both would be making $7 an hour. This would force the employer to raise the amount he pays the manager, and so on up the chain. This is why the minimum wage is such a hot campaign issue. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/14 "2004-10-23T20:41:35Z")
You lost me there, **Bob**. I’m in a union, the UAW, have been for over a decade and our base wage didn’t move in 96, which was the last time the minimum was raised, right? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/15 "2004-10-24T02:52:21Z")
I know a number of cleaning, hotel staff, child care and small business employees who work at or just above minimum wage (usually $6/hr or less). They also don’t get either merit or cost-of-living raises. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/16 "2004-10-24T03:03:32Z")
When my husband worked as a night auditor/desk clerk, at hotels in a small city he earned minimum wage. No matter how long you had the job, there it was always minimum wage because competition for jobs was heavy in that town. He worked that job about 4 years while I was in college. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/17 "2004-10-24T03:15:39Z")
> [@erislover](#): > > Most jobs I see that are “minimum wage jobs” never pay minimum wage. You also have to remember that the federal minimum wage [$5.15](http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/minimumwage.htm) is trumped on a [state level](http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm) Also, from [here](http://www.latimes.com/classified/jobs/career/la-me-wage19sep19,0,6947067.story?coll=la-class-employ-career) > [@](#): > > Five states have higher minimum wages than California\<$6.752\>: Alaska ($7.15), Connecticut ($7.10), Oregon ($7.05), Vermont ($7 starting in January) and Washington state ($7.16), according to the U.S. Department of Labor. California’s rate is the same as Massachusetts’ and Rhode Island’s. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/18 "2004-10-24T03:27:09Z")
Huh! Well, that certainly explains my anecdotal information. ---
**Author:** ![LordVor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90ced4/32.png) [@LordVor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordVor)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/19 "2004-10-24T03:50:00Z")
> [@erislover](#): > > Well, that’s not what the cite said, it said that that many would benefit from having it move to 7. Still… an impressive number. Connecting the dots, it would almost imply that more people than that are working “minimum wage” jobs, as people who are making “minimum wage” in states in which the minimum wage is higher than $7 wouldn’t benefit… -lv ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770/20 "2004-10-24T03:55:41Z")
I spent the summer working for minimum wage. I think it’s pretty much safe to assume that, if you walk into a shopping mall, the vast majority of people behind the counter are scrapping minimum wage. Halfway through the summer, I got a raise - ten extra cents an hour! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-actually-earns-minimum-wage/270770.md?page=2)