Characteristics of Minimum Wage Employee

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Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

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Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2004
Tables 1 - 10
Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal
minimum wage, 2004 annual averages:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

by
by
by
by
by
by
by
by
by
by

selected characteristics
census region and division
State
major occupation group
major industry group
educational attainment
age and sex
marital status, age, and sex
usual hours worked per week
sex (1979-2004 annual averages)

Table 1. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal
minimum wage by selected characteristics, 2004 annual averages
Number of workers
Percent of workers
(in thousands)
Percent distribution
paid hourly rates
At or below $5.15
At or below $5.15
At or below $5.15
Total
Total
per hour
per hour
per hour
paid
paid
At
Below hourly
At
Below
At
Below
hourly
rates Total $5.15 $5.15
rates Total $5.15 $5.15 Total $5.15 $5.15
Characteristic
AGE AND SEX
Total, 16 years
and over
73,939 2,003
520
1,483
100.0 100.0 100.0
100.0
2.7
0.7
2.0
16 to 24 years
16 to 19
years
25 years and
over
Men, 16 years
and over

16,174 1,022

272

750

21.9

51.0

52.3

50.6

6.3

1.7

4.6

5,433

497

168

329

7.3

24.8

32.3

22.2

9.1

3.1

6.1

57,765

982

249

733

78.1

49.0

47.9

49.4

1.7

0.4

1.3

36,806

680

210

470

49.8

33.9

40.4

31.7

1.8

0.6

1.3

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16 to 24 years
16 to 19
years
25 years and
over
Women, 16
years and over
16 to 24 years
16 to 19
years
25 years and
over

8,305

366

127

239

11.2

18.3

24.4

16.1

4.4

1.5

2.9

2,672

179

78

101

3.6

8.9

15.0

6.8

6.7

2.9

3.8

28,500

314

83

231

38.5

15.7

16.0

15.6

1.1

0.3

0.8

37,133 1,323

310

1,013

50.2

66.1

59.6

68.3

3.6

0.8

2.7

7,869

655

145

510

10.6

32.7

27.9

34.4

8.3

1.8

6.5

2,761

319

90

229

3.7

15.9

17.3

15.4 11.6

3.3

8.3

29,265

668

166

502

39.6

33.3

31.9

33.9

2.3

0.6

1.7

59,877 1,681

395

1,286

81.0

83.9

76.0

86.7

2.8

0.7

2.1

30,255

554

161

393

40.9

27.7

31.0

26.5

1.8

0.5

1.3

29,621 1,126

234

892

40.1

56.2

45.0

60.1

3.8

0.8

3.0

RACE, SEX, AND
HISPANIC OR
LATINO
ETHNICITY
(1)

White
Men

Women
Black or African
American

(1)

Men
Women
Asian

9,417

227

99

128

12.7

11.3

19.0

8.6

2.4

1.1

1.4

4,243

89

40

49

5.7

4.4

7.7

3.3

2.1

0.9

1.2

5,174

138

59

79

7.0

6.9

11.3

5.3

2.7

1.1

1.5

2,672

38

8

30

3.6

1.9

1.5

2.0

1.4

0.3

1.1

1,295

15

3

12

1.8

0.7

0.6

0.8

1.2

0.2

0.9

1,378

23

5

18

1.9

1.1

1.0

1.2

1.7

0.4

1.3

12,073

250

82

168

16.3

12.5

15.8

11.3

2.1

0.7

1.4

7,183

98

32

66

9.7

4.9

6.2

4.5

1.4

0.4

0.9

4,890

151

49

102

6.6

7.5

9.4

6.9

3.1

1.0

2.1

(1)

Men
Women
Hispanic or
Latino

(1)

Men
Women

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FULL- AND
PART-TIME
STATUS AND
SEX
Full-time
workers

(2)

Men
Women

55,739

760

177

583

75.4

37.9

34.0

39.3

1.4

0.3

1.0

30,951

300

77

223

41.9

15.0

14.8

15.0

1.0

0.2

0.7

24,788

460

100

360

33.5

23.0

19.2

24.3

1.9

0.4

1.5

18,046 1,240

343

897

24.4

61.9

66.0

60.5

6.9

1.9

5.0

Part-time
workers

(2)

Men
Women

5,770

378

132

246

7.8

18.9

25.4

16.6

6.6

2.3

4.3

12,276

861

210

651

16.6

43.0

40.4

43.9

7.0

1.7

5.3

1 Detail for the race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) will not sum to totals because data are
not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any
race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as 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.
NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated.
top

Table 2. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the
prevailing Federal minimum wage by census region and division, 2004 annual averages
Percent of
Number of workers
workers paid
(in thousands)
Percent distribution
hourly rates
At
or
below
$5.15
At
or
below
$5.15
At
or
below $5.15
Total
Total
per hour
per hour
per hour
paid
paid
At
Below hourly
At
Below
At
Below
Region and hourly
rates Total $5.15 $5.15 rates Total $5.15 $5.15 Total $5.15 $5.15
division
Total, 16
years and
73,939 2,003
520 1,483 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
2.7
0.7
2.0
over
Northeast
New
England

12,923

364

93

271

17.5

18.2

17.9

18.3

2.8

0.7

2.1

3,809

89

13

76

5.2

4.4

2.5

5.1

2.3

0.3

2.0

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Middle
Atlantic

9,114

275

79

196

12.3

13.7

15.2

13.2

3.0

0.9

2.2

18,768

533

110

423

25.4

26.6

21.2

28.5

2.8

0.6

2.3

East
North
Central

12,978

384

69

315

17.6

19.2

13.3

21.2

3.0

0.5

2.4

West
North
Central

5,790

149

41

108

7.8

7.4

7.9

7.3

2.6

0.7

1.9

25,343

840

232

608

34.3

41.9

44.6

41.0

3.3

0.9

2.4

South
Atlantic

13,020

374

66

308

17.6

18.7

12.7

20.8

2.9

0.5

2.4

East
South
Central

4,455

154

55

99

6.0

7.7

10.6

6.7

3.5

1.2

2.2

West
South
Central

7,868

312

111

201

10.6

15.6

21.3

13.6

4.0

1.4

2.6

16,905

267

86

181

22.9

13.3

16.5

12.2

1.6

0.5

1.1

5,143

168

53

115

7.0

8.4

10.2

7.8

3.3

1.0

2.2

11,761

99

33

66

15.9

4.9

6.3

4.5

0.8

0.3

0.6

Midwest

South

West
Mountain
Pacific

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and 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
*

*

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Table 3. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal
minimum wage by State, 2004 annual averages
Number of workers
Percent of workers
(in thousands)
Percent distribution
paid hourly rates
At or below $5.15
At or below $5.15
At or below $5.15
Total
Total
per hour
per hour
per hour
paid
paid
At
Below hourly
At
Below
At
Below
hourly
rates Total $5.15 $5.15
rates Total $5.15 $5.15 Total $5.15 $5.15
State
Total, 16 years
and over
73,939 2,003
520
1,483
100.0 100.0 100.0
100.0
2.7
0.7
2.0
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of
Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky

1,142

53

28

25

1.5

2.6

5.4

1.7

4.6

2.5

2.2

194

1

-

1

0.3

-

-

0.1

0.5

-

0.5

1,470

43

10

33

2.0

2.1

1.9

2.2

2.9

0.7

2.2

655

18

8

10

0.9

0.9

1.5

0.7

2.7

1.2

1.5

8,575

72

26

46

11.6

3.6

5.0

3.1

0.8

0.3

0.5

1,116

40

6

34

1.5

2.0

1.2

2.3

3.6

0.5

3.0

876

16

2

14

1.2

0.8

0.4

0.9

1.8

0.2

1.6

204

4

1

3

0.3

0.2

0.2

0.2

2.0

0.5

1.5

107

3

1

2

0.1

0.1

0.2

0.1

2.8

0.9

1.9

4,037

146

13

133

5.5

7.3

2.5

9.0

3.6

0.3

3.3

2,022

39

7

32

2.7

1.9

1.3

2.2

1.9

0.3

1.6

329

5

1

4

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.3

1.5

0.3

1.2

383

12

3

9

0.5

0.6

0.6

0.6

3.1

0.8

2.3

3,184

84

13

71

4.3

4.2

2.5

4.8

2.6

0.4

2.2

1,779

36

5

31

2.4

1.8

1.0

2.1

2.0

0.3

1.7

882

26

6

20

1.2

1.3

1.2

1.3

2.9

0.7

2.3

797

23

6

17

1.1

1.1

1.2

1.1

2.9

0.8

2.1

1,148

45

15

30

1.6

2.2

2.9

2.0

3.9

1.3

2.6

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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
Tennesee

1,070

55

23

32

1.4

2.7

4.4

2.2

5.1

2.1

3.0

396

9

1

8

0.5

0.4

0.2

0.5

2.3

0.3

2.0

1,294

24

4

20

1.8

1.2

0.8

1.3

1.9

0.3

1.5

1,679

43

8

35

2.3

2.1

1.5

2.4

2.6

0.5

2.1

2,888

90

16

74

3.9

4.5

3.1

5.0

3.1

0.6

2.6

1,529

31

13

18

2.1

1.5

2.5

1.2

2.0

0.9

1.2

658

17

6

11

0.9

0.8

1.2

0.7

2.6

0.9

1.7

1,601

42

9

33

2.2

2.1

1.7

2.2

2.6

0.6

2.1

252

8

5

3

0.3

0.4

1.0

0.2

3.2

2.0

1.2

557

16

4

12

0.8

0.8

0.8

0.8

2.9

0.7

2.2

640

16

9

7

0.9

0.8

1.7

0.5

2.5

1.4

1.1

376

9

1

8

0.5

0.4

0.2

0.5

2.4

0.3

2.1

1,842

59

14

45

2.5

2.9

2.7

3.0

3.2

0.8

2.4

470

26

13

13

0.6

1.3

2.5

0.9

5.5

2.8

2.8

4,009

128

39

89

5.4

6.4

7.5

6.0

3.2

1.0

2.2

2,099

54

16

38

2.8

2.7

3.1

2.6

2.6

0.8

1.8

195

5

2

3

0.3

0.2

0.4

0.2

2.6

1.0

1.5

3,324

125

25

100

4.5

6.2

4.8

6.7

3.8

0.8

3.0

849

41

13

28

1.1

2.0

2.5

1.9

4.8

1.5

3.3

951

6

3

3

1.3

0.3

0.6

0.2

0.6

0.3

0.3

3,263

89

27

62

4.4

4.4

5.2

4.2

2.7

0.8

1.9

306

8

1

7

0.4

0.4

0.2

0.5

2.6

0.3

2.3

1,062

43

7

36

1.4

2.1

1.3

2.4

4.0

0.7

3.4

229

8

2

6

0.3

0.4

0.4

0.4

3.5

0.9

2.6

1,507

40

7

33

2.0

2.0

1.3

2.2

2.7

0.5

2.2

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Texas

5,293

198

67

131

7.2

9.9

12.9

8.8

3.7

1.3

2.5

667

19

6

13

0.9

0.9

1.2

0.9

2.8

0.9

1.9

176

5

1

4

0.2

0.2

0.2

0.3

2.8

0.6

2.3

1,720

42

5

37

2.3

2.1

1.0

2.5

2.4

0.3

2.2

1,713

15

3

12

2.3

0.7

0.6

0.8

0.9

0.2

0.7

475

20

11

9

0.6

1.0

2.1

0.6

4.2

2.3

1.9

1,804

49

10

39

2.4

2.4

1.9

2.6

2.7

0.6

2.2

145

4

1

3

0.2

0.2

0.2

0.2

2.8

0.7

2.1

Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated. Users are reminded that these
data are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling error; the degree of error may be quite large
for less populous States. It is not possible to clearly determine whether workers surveyed in the CPS are actually
covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or by individual State minimum wage laws. Thus, some workers
reported as earning an hourly wage of $5.15 may not in fact be covered by Federal or State minimum wage laws.
At the same time, the presence of a sizable number of workers with wages below the prevailing Federal minimum
wage does not necessarily indicate violations of the FLSA or applicable State laws, because there are numerous
exclusions and exemptions to these minimum wage statutes. Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet
publication criteria.
top

Table 4. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal
minimum wage by major occupation group, 2004 annual averages
Number of workers
Percent of workers
(in thousands)
Percent distribution
paid hourly rates
At or below $5.15
At or below $5.15
At or below $5.15
Total
Total
per hour
per hour
per hour
paid
paid
At
Below hourly
At
Below
At
Below
hourly
rates Total $5.15 $5.15 rates Total $5.15 $5.15 Total $5.15 $5.15
Occupation
Total, 16 years and
over
73,939 2,003
520
1,483
100.0 100.0 100.0
100.0
2.7
0.7
2.0
Management,
professional, and
related occupations
Management,
business, and
financial
operations
occupations

13,743

66

27

39

18.6

3.3

5.2

2.6

0.5

0.2

0.3

3,750

16

2

14

5.1

0.8

0.4

0.9

0.4

0.1

0.4

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Professional and
related
occupations
Service
occupations

9,993

50

25

25

13.5

2.5

4.8

1.7

0.5

0.3

0.3

16,381 1,494

256

1,238

22.2

74.6

49.2

83.5

9.1

1.6

7.6

Healthcare
support
occupations

2,460

33

12

21

3.3

1.6

2.3

1.4

1.3

0.5

0.9

Protective
service
occupations

1,823

24

4

20

2.5

1.2

0.8

1.3

1.3

0.2

1.1

6,236 1,183

147

1,036

8.4

59.1

28.3

69.9 19.0

2.4

16.6

Food
preparation and
serving related
occupations
Building and
grounds
cleaning and
maintenance
occupations

3,608

102

39

63

4.9

5.1

7.5

4.2

2.8

1.1

1.7

Personal care
and service
occupations

2,254

151

54

97

3.0

7.5

10.4

6.5

6.7

2.4

4.3

Sales and office
occupations

20,650

250

146

104

27.9

12.5

28.1

7.0

1.2

0.7

0.5

7,512

142

76

66

10.2

7.1

14.6

4.5

1.9

1.0

0.9

13,139

106

69

37

17.8

5.3

13.3

2.5

0.8

0.5

0.3

9,368

50

26

24

12.7

2.5

5.0

1.6

0.5

0.3

0.3

603

21

11

10

0.8

1.0

2.1

0.7

3.5

1.8

1.7

5,430

13

6

7

7.3

0.6

1.2

0.5

0.2

0.1

0.1

Sales and
related
occupations
Office and
administrative
support
occupations
Natural resources,
construction, and
maintenance
occupations
Farming, fishing,
and forestry
occupations
Construction
and extraction
occupations

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Installation,
maintenance,
and repair
occupations
Production,
transportation,
and material
moving
occupations
Production
occupations
Transportation
and material
moving
occupations

3,335

15

9

6

4.5

0.7

1.7

0.4

0.4

0.3

0.2

13,796

144

66

78

18.7

7.2

12.7

5.3

1.0

0.5

0.6

7,708

54

18

36

10.4

2.7

3.5

2.4

0.7

0.2

0.5

6,087

89

47

42

8.2

4.4

9.0

2.8

1.5

0.8

0.7

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated.
top

Table 5. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal
minimum wage by major industry group, 2004 annual averages
Number of workers
Percent of workers
(in thousands)
Percent distribution
paid hourly rates
At or below $5.15
At or below $5.15 At or below $5.15
Total
Total
per hour
per hour
per hour
paid
paid
hourly
At
Below hourly
At
Below
At
Below
rates Total $5.15 $5.15 rates Total $5.15 $5.15 Total $5.15 $5.15
Industry
Total, 16 years and
over
73,939 2,003
520 1,483
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
2.7
0.7
2.0
Private sector
Agriculture and
related industries
Nonagricultural
industries
Mining
Construction
Manufacturing
Durable
goods

64,708 1,890

467

1,423

87.5

94.4

89.8

96.0

2.9

0.7

2.2

19

10

9

0.8

0.9

1.9

0.6

3.0

1.6

1.4

64,085 1,870

457

1,413

86.7

93.4

87.9

95.3

2.9

0.7

2.2

623

312

1

1

-

0.4

-

0.2

-

0.3

0.3

-

5,552

18

8

10

7.5

0.9

1.5

0.7

0.3

0.1

0.2

10,388

61

23

38

14.0

3.0

4.4

2.6

0.6

0.2

0.4

6,397

28

8

20

8.7

1.4

1.5

1.3

0.4

0.1

0.3

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Nondurable
goods

3,991

33

15

18

5.4

1.6

2.9

1.2

0.8

0.4

0.5

Wholesale and
retail trade

12,456

181

96

85

16.8

9.0

18.5

5.7

1.5

0.8

0.7

2,038

17

10

7

2.8

0.8

1.9

0.5

0.8

0.5

0.3

10,418

164

86

78

14.1

8.2

16.5

5.3

1.6

0.8

0.7

2,915

20

7

13

3.9

1.0

1.3

0.9

0.7

0.2

0.4

1,472

14

10

4

2.0

0.7

1.9

0.3

1.0

0.7

0.3

Financial
activities

3,453

33

20

13

4.7

1.6

3.8

0.9

1.0

0.6

0.4

Professional and
business
services

5,461

61

24

37

7.4

3.0

4.6

2.5

1.1

0.4

0.7

11,022

138

62

76

14.9

6.9

11.9

5.1

1.3

0.6

0.7

8,095 1,242

176

1,066

10.9

62.0

33.8

71.9 15.3

2.2

13.2

Wholesale
trade
Retail trade
Transportation
and utilities
Information

Education and
health services
Leisure and
hospitality
Other services
Public sector
Federal
State
Local

2,959

102

31

71

4.0

5.1

6.0

4.8

3.4

1.0

2.4

9,231

113

53

60

12.5

5.6

10.2

4.0

1.2

0.6

0.6

1,781

19

11

8

2.4

0.9

2.1

0.5

1.1

0.6

0.4

2,347

32

17

15

3.2

1.6

3.3

1.0

1.4

0.7

0.6

5,103

62

25

37

6.9

3.1

4.8

2.5

1.2

0.5

0.7

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated. Dash indicates no data or data
that do not meet publication criteria.
top

Table 6. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal
minimum wage by educational attainment, 2004 annual averages
Percent of
Number of workers
workers paid
(in thousands)
Percent distribution
hourly rates

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Total At or below $5.15 Total At or below $5.15 At or below $5.15
per hour
per hour
per hour
paid
paid
Educational attainment hourly
At
Below hourly
At
Below
At
Below
rates Total $5.15 $5.15 rates Total $5.15 $5.15 Total $5.15 $5.15
Total, 16 years and over
73,939 2,003
520 1,483 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
2.7
0.7
2.0
Less than a high
school diploma

12,276

579

203

376

16.6

28.9

39.0

25.4

4.7

1.7

3.1

Less than 1 year of
high school

3,428

85

26

59

4.6

4.2

5.0

4.0

2.5

0.8

1.7

1 to 3 years of high
school

7,631

443

158

285

10.3

22.1

30.4

19.2

5.8

2.1

3.7

4 years of high
school, no diploma

1,217

50

19

31

1.6

2.5

3.7

2.1

4.1

1.6

2.5

61,663 1,424

317

1,107

83.4

71.1

61.0

74.6

2.3

0.5

1.8

High school
graduates, no
college

27,399

633

156

477

37.1

31.6

30.0

32.2

2.3

0.6

1.7

Some college or
associate degree

24,002

653

130

523

32.5

32.6

25.0

35.3

2.7

0.5

2.2

Some college,
no degree

16,662

536

107

429

22.5

26.8

20.6

28.9

3.2

0.6

2.6

7,340

116

23

93

9.9

5.8

4.4

6.3

1.6

0.3

1.3

Occupational
program

4,170

51

8

43

5.6

2.5

1.5

2.9

1.2

0.2

1.0

Academic
program

3,170

64

14

50

4.3

3.2

2.7

3.4

2.0

0.4

1.6

10,262

139

31

108

13.9

6.9

6.0

7.3

1.4

0.3

1.1

8,171

125

26

99

11.1

6.2

5.0

6.7

1.5

0.3

1.2

1,629

9

4

5

2.2

0.4

0.8

0.3

0.6

0.2

0.3

289

3

-

3

0.4

0.1

-

0.2

1.0

-

1.0

173

1

-

1

0.2

-

-

0.1

0.6

-

0.6

High school graduates
or more

Associate
degree

Bachelor's degree
and higher, total
Bachelor's
degree
Master's degree
Professional
degree
Doctoral degree

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NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated. Dash indicates no data or data
that do not meet publication criteria.
top

Table 7. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal
minimum wage by age and sex, 2004 annual averages
Number of workers
Percent of workers
(in thousands)
Percent distribution
paid hourly rates
At or below $5.15
Total At or below $5.15 per Total At or below $5.15 per
hour
hour
per hour
paid
paid
hourly
hourly
At
Below
At
Below
At
Below
rates Total $5.15 $5.15
rates Total $5.15 $5.15 Total $5.15 $5.15
Age and sex
BOTH SEXES
Total, 16
years and
73,939 2,003
520
1,483
100.0 100.0 100.0
100.0
2.7
0.7
2.0
over
Under 25
years

16,174 1,022

272

750

21.9

51.0

52.3

50.6

6.3

1.7

4.6

16 to 19
years

5,433

497

168

329

7.3

24.8

32.3

22.2

9.1

3.1

6.1

20 to 24
years

10,741

523

103

420

14.5

26.1

19.8

28.3

4.9

1.0

3.9

57,765

982

249

733

78.1

49.0

47.9

49.4

1.7

0.4

1.3

16,574

384

64

320

22.4

19.2

12.3

21.6

2.3

0.4

1.9

25 to 29
years

8,449

226

34

192

11.4

11.3

6.5

12.9

2.7

0.4

2.3

30 to 34
years

8,125

157

30

127

11.0

7.8

5.8

8.6

1.9

0.4

1.6

16,715

238

63

175

22.6

11.9

12.1

11.8

1.4

0.4

1.0

35 to 39
years

8,007

117

25

92

10.8

5.8

4.8

6.2

1.5

0.3

1.1

40 to 44
years

8,708

121

37

84

11.8

6.0

7.1

5.7

1.4

0.4

1.0

14,796

173

48

125

20.0

8.6

9.2

8.4

1.2

0.3

0.8

25 years
and over
25 to 34
years

35 to 44
years

45 to 54
years

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Message

45 to 49
years

8,201

101

30

71

11.1

5.0

5.8

4.8

1.2

0.4

0.9

50 to 54
years

6,595

72

18

54

8.9

3.6

3.5

3.6

1.1

0.3

0.8

7,501

101

40

61

10.1

5.0

7.7

4.1

1.3

0.5

0.8

55 to 59
years

4,756

60

21

39

6.4

3.0

4.0

2.6

1.3

0.4

0.8

60 to 64
years

2,745

41

19

22

3.7

2.0

3.7

1.5

1.5

0.7

0.8

65 years
and over

2,177

86

33

53

2.9

4.3

6.3

3.6

4.0

1.5

2.4

65 to 69
years

1,196

41

15

26

1.6

2.0

2.9

1.8

3.4

1.3

2.2

70
years
and over

981

45

18

27

1.3

2.2

3.5

1.8

4.6

1.8

2.8

36,806

680

210

470

49.8

33.9

40.4

31.7

1.8

0.6

1.3

8,305

366

127

239

11.2

18.3

24.4

16.1

4.4

1.5

2.9

16 to 19
years

2,672

179

78

101

3.6

8.9

15.0

6.8

6.7

2.9

3.8

20 to 24
years

5,633

187

49

138

7.6

9.3

9.4

9.3

3.3

0.9

2.4

28,500

314

83

231

38.5

15.7

16.0

15.6

1.1

0.3

0.8

8,929

141

30

111

12.1

7.0

5.8

7.5

1.6

0.3

1.2

25 to 29
years

4,610

88

15

73

6.2

4.4

2.9

4.9

1.9

0.3

1.6

30 to 34
years

4,319

52

14

38

5.8

2.6

2.7

2.6

1.2

0.3

0.9

55 to 64
years

MEN
Total, 16
years and
over
Under 25
years

25 years
and over
25 to 34
years

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Message

35 to 44
years

8,277

71

17

54

11.2

3.5

3.3

3.6

0.9

0.2

0.7

35 to 39
years

4,081

33

3

30

5.5

1.6

0.6

2.0

0.8

0.1

0.7

40 to 44
years

4,196

36

13

23

5.7

1.8

2.5

1.6

0.9

0.3

0.5

6,928

57

17

40

9.4

2.8

3.3

2.7

0.8

0.2

0.6

45 to 49
years

3,847

33

10

23

5.2

1.6

1.9

1.6

0.9

0.3

0.6

50 to 54
years

3,081

25

7

18

4.2

1.2

1.3

1.2

0.8

0.2

0.6

3,402

27

13

14

4.6

1.3

2.5

0.9

0.8

0.4

0.4

55 to 59
years

2,167

17

9

8

2.9

0.8

1.7

0.5

0.8

0.4

0.4

60 to 64
years

1,235

9

4

5

1.7

0.4

0.8

0.3

0.7

0.3

0.4

65 years
and over

964

20

7

13

1.3

1.0

1.3

0.9

2.1

0.7

1.3

65 to 69
years

530

8

1

7

0.7

0.4

0.2

0.5

1.5

0.2

1.3

70
years
and over

434

10

5

5

0.6

0.5

1.0

0.3

2.3

1.2

1.2

37,133 1,323

310

1,013

50.2

66.1

59.6

68.3

3.6

0.8

2.7

45 to 54
years

55 to 64
years

WOMEN
Total, 16
years and
over
Under 25
years

7,869

655

145

510

10.6

32.7

27.9

34.4

8.3

1.8

6.5

16 to 19
years

2,761

319

90

229

3.7

15.9

17.3

15.4 11.6

3.3

8.3

20 to 24
years

5,108

337

55

282

6.9

16.8

10.6

19.0

1.1

5.5

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6.6

Message

25 years
and over

29,265

668

166

502

39.6

33.3

31.9

33.9

2.3

0.6

1.7

7,645

244

35

209

10.3

12.2

6.7

14.1

3.2

0.5

2.7

25 to 29
years

3,839

138

19

119

5.2

6.9

3.7

8.0

3.6

0.5

3.1

30 to 34
years

3,806

106

16

90

5.1

5.3

3.1

6.1

2.8

0.4

2.4

8,439

168

46

122

11.4

8.4

8.8

8.2

2.0

0.5

1.4

35 to 39
years

3,927

83

22

61

5.3

4.1

4.2

4.1

2.1

0.6

1.6

40 to 44
years

4,512

84

24

60

6.1

4.2

4.6

4.0

1.9

0.5

1.3

7,868

115

31

84

10.6

5.7

6.0

5.7

1.5

0.4

1.1

45 to 49
years

4,355

68

20

48

5.9

3.4

3.8

3.2

1.6

0.5

1.1

50 to 54
years

3,514

48

11

37

4.8

2.4

2.1

2.5

1.4

0.3

1.1

4,099

74

27

47

5.5

3.7

5.2

3.2

1.8

0.7

1.1

55 to 59
years

2,589

43

12

31

3.5

2.1

2.3

2.1

1.7

0.5

1.2

60 to 64
years

1,510

31

15

16

2.0

1.5

2.9

1.1

2.1

1.0

1.1

65 years
and over

1,213

67

27

40

1.6

3.3

5.2

2.7

5.5

2.2

3.3

65 to 69
years

666

33

14

19

0.9

1.6

2.7

1.3

5.0

2.1

2.9

70
years
and over

547

35

13

22

0.7

1.7

2.5

1.5

6.4

2.4

4.0

25 to 34
years

35 to 44
years

45 to 54
years

55 to 64
years

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated.
top

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Message

Table 8. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal
minimum wage by marital status, age, and sex, 2004 annual averages
Number of workers
Percent of workers
(in thousands)
Percent distribution
paid hourly rates
At
or
below
$5.15
per
At
or
below
$5.15
per
At
or below $5.15
Total
Total
hour
hour
per hour
Marital
paid
paid
status, age
hourly
hourly
At
Below
At
Below
At
Below
and sex
rates Total $5.15 $5.15
rates Total $5.15 $5.15 Total $5.15 $5.15
BOTH SEXES
Total, 16
years and
73,939 2,003
520
1,483
100.0 100.0 100.0
100.0
2.7
0.7
2.0
over
Never
married

25,411 1,244

320

924

34.4

62.1

61.5

62.3

4.9

1.3

3.6

16 to 24
years

14,155

940

253

687

19.1

46.9

48.7

46.3

6.6

1.8

4.9

25 years
and over

11,256

303

67

236

15.2

15.1

12.9

15.9

2.7

0.6

2.1

25 to 54
years

10,694

289

59

230

14.5

14.4

11.3

15.5

2.7

0.6

2.2

36,130

481

114

367

48.9

24.0

21.9

24.7

1.3

0.3

1.0

16 to 24
years

1,603

65

14

51

2.2

3.2

2.7

3.4

4.1

0.9

3.2

25 years
and over

34,527

416

100

316

46.7

20.8

19.2

21.3

1.2

0.3

0.9

25 to 54
years

28,353

331

73

258

38.3

16.5

14.0

17.4

1.2

0.3

0.9

12,397

278

86

192

16.8

13.9

16.5

12.9

2.2

0.7

1.5

16 to 24
years

415

16

5

11

0.6

0.8

1.0

0.7

3.9

1.2

2.7

25 years
and over

11,982

263

82

181

16.2

13.1

15.8

12.2

2.2

0.7

1.5

25 to 54
years

9,040

176

44

132

12.2

8.8

8.5

8.9

1.9

0.5

1.5

Married,
spouse
present

Other
marital
status

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Message

MEN
Total, 16
years and
over

36,806

680

210

470

49.8

33.9

40.4

31.7

1.8

0.6

1.3

Never
married

13,637

490

150

340

18.4

24.5

28.8

22.9

3.6

1.1

2.5

16 to 24
years

7,429

351

120

231

10.0

17.5

23.1

15.6

4.7

1.6

3.1

25 years
and over

6,208

139

30

109

8.4

6.9

5.8

7.3

2.2

0.5

1.8

25 to 54
years

5,960

132

26

106

8.1

6.6

5.0

7.1

2.2

0.4

1.8

18,546

135

36

99

25.1

6.7

6.9

6.7

0.7

0.2

0.5

724

12

4

8

1.0

0.6

0.8

0.5

1.7

0.6

1.1

25 years
and over]

17,822

123

32

91

24.1

6.1

6.2

6.1

0.7

0.2

0.5

25 to 54
years

14,506

98

24

74

19.6

4.9

4.6

5.0

0.7

0.2

0.5

4,623

54

23

31

6.3

2.7

4.4

2.1

1.2

0.5

0.7

16 to 24
years

153

3

3

-

0.2

0.1

0.6

-

2.0

2.0

-

25 years
and over

4,470

52

21

31

6.0

2.6

4.0

2.1

1.2

0.5

0.7

25 to 54
years

3,667

37

13

24

5.0

1.8

2.5

1.6

1.0

0.4

0.7

37,133 1,323

310

1,013

50.2

66.1

59.6

68.3

3.6

0.8

2.7

11,774

170

584

15.9

37.6

32.7

39.4

6.4

1.4

5.0

Married,
spouse
present
16 to 24
years

Other
marital
status

WOMEN
Total, 16
years and
over
Never
married

754

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16 to 24
years

6,727

588

132

456

9.1

29.4

25.4

30.7

8.7

2.0

6.8

25 years
and over

5,047

164

37

127

6.8

8.2

7.1

8.6

3.2

0.7

2.5

25 to 54
years

4,733

156

33

123

6.4

7.8

6.3

8.3

3.3

0.7

2.6

17,584

346

78

268

23.8

17.3

15.0

18.1

2.0

0.4

1.5

16 to 24
years

879

54

11

43

1.2

2.7

2.1

2.9

6.1

1.3

4.9

25 years
and over

16,705

293

68

225

22.6

14.6

13.1

15.2

1.8

0.4

1.3

25 to 54
years

13,847

232

48

184

18.7

11.6

9.2

12.4

1.7

0.3

1.3

7,774

224

63

161

10.5

11.2

12.1

10.9

2.9

0.8

2.1

16 to 24
years

262

13

2

11

0.4

0.6

0.4

0.7

5.0

0.8

4.2

25 years
and over

7,512

211

61

150

10.2

10.5

11.7

10.1

2.8

0.8

2.0

25 to 54
years

5,372

139

31

108

7.3

6.9

6.0

7.3

2.6

0.6

2.0

Married,
spouse
present

Other
marital
status

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated. Dash indicates no data or data
that do not meet publication criteria.
top

Table 9. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal
minimum wage by usual hours worked on primary job per week, 2004 annual averages
Number of workers
Percent of workers
(in thousands)
Percent distribution
paid hourly rates
At or below $5.15
At or below $5.15
At or below $5.15
Usual hours
Total
Total
per hour
per hour
per hour
worked per
paid
paid
week on primary hourly
At
Below hourly
At
Below
At
Below
job
rates Total $5.15 $5.15
rates Total $5.15 $5.15 Total $5.15 $5.15

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Total, 16 years
and over
Hours vary
0 to 34 hours
0 to 4 hours

73,939 2,003

520

1,483

289

56

233

7.4

15,833 1,060

305

755

5,499

100.0 100.0

100.0

100.0

2.7

0.7

2.0

14.4

10.8

15.7

5.3

1.0

4.2

21.4

52.9

58.7

50.9

6.7

1.9

4.8

309

21

6

15

0.4

1.0

1.2

1.0

6.8

1.9

4.9

913

75

23

52

1.2

3.7

4.4

3.5

8.2

2.5

5.7

10 to 14
hours

1,458

110

38

72

2.0

5.5

7.3

4.9

7.5

2.6

4.9

15 to 19
hours

2,110

155

57

98

2.9

7.7

11.0

6.6

7.3

2.7

4.6

20 to 24
hours

4,921

338

111

227

6.7

16.9

21.3

15.3

6.9

2.3

4.6

25 to 29
hours

2,163

143

30

113

2.9

7.1

5.8

7.6

6.6

1.4

5.2

30 to 34
hours

3,959

218

40

178

5.4

10.9

7.7

12.0

5.5

1.0

4.5

52,607

654

159

495

71.1

32.7

30.6

33.4

1.2

0.3

0.9

5,037

167

26

141

6.8

8.3

5.0

9.5

3.3

0.5

2.8

47,570

487

133

354

64.3

24.3

25.6

23.9

1.0

0.3

0.7

41,302

429

121

308

55.9

21.4

23.3

20.8

1.0

0.3

0.7

41 hours or
more

6,267

59

13

46

8.5

2.9

2.5

3.1

0.9

0.2

0.7

41 to 44
hours

746

4

-

4

1.0

0.2

-

0.3

0.5

-

0.5

45 to 48
hours

2,263

18

4

14

3.1

0.9

0.8

0.9

0.8

0.2

0.6

49 to 59
hours

2,266

27

5

22

3.1

1.3

1.0

1.5

1.2

0.2

1.0

60
hours or
more

992

9

4

5

1.3

0.4

0.8

0.3

0.9

0.4

0.5

5 to 9 hours

35 hours or
more
35 to 39
hours
40 hours or
more
40 hours

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Message

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated. Dash indicates no data or data
that do not meet publication criteria.
top

Table 10. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal
minimum wage by sex, 1979-2004 annual averages (Numbers in thousands)
Workers paid hourly rates
Total at or below
prevailing Federal
minimum wage
Below
Percent of
prevailing
total wage
At prevailing
Total wage
Percent of
Federal
and salary
Federal
Year and and salary
hourly paid
workers minimum wage minimum wage Number
sex
Total
workers
workers
BOTH
SEXES
1979
87,529 51,721
59.1
2,916
3,997
6,912
13.4
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986

1988
1989

3,087

4,686

7,773

15.1

88,516 51,869

58.6

3,513

4,311

7,824

15.1

87,368 50,846

58.2

2,348

4,148

6,496

12.8

88,290 51,820

58.7

2,077

4,261

6,338

12.2

92,194 54,143

58.7

1,838

4,125

5,963

11.0

94,521 55,762

59.0

1,639

3,899

5,538

9.9

96,903 57,529

59.4

1,599

3,461

5,060

8.8

99,303 59,552

60.0

1,468

3,229

4,698

7.9

101,407 60,878

60.0

1,319

2,608

3,927

6.5

103,480 62,389

60.3

1,372

1,790

3,162

5.1

104,876 63,172

60.2

2,132

103,723 62,627

60.4

2,377

104,668 63,610

60.8

1,939

2,982

4,921

7.7

106,101 64,274

60.6

1,707

2,625

4,332

6.7

107,989 66,549

61.6

1,995

2,132

4,128

6.2

(1)

1991
1992
1993
1994

58.6

(1)

1987

1990

87,644 51,335

(2)

(2)

1,096
2,906

(2)

(2)

3,228
5,283

(2)

(2)

5.1
8.4

(2)

(2)

(1)

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1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000

1,863

114,533 70,735

61.8

2,990

116,730 71,440

61.2

2,834

1,593

4,427

6.2

118,963 72,306

60.8

2,194

1,146

3,340

4.6

122,089 73,496

60.2

1,752

898

2,650

3.6

122,229 73,392

60.0

1,518

656

2,174

3.0

121,826 72,508

59.5

1,579

567

2,146

3.0

122,358 72,946

59.6

1,555

545

2,100

2.9

123,554 73,939

59.8

1,483

520

2,003

2.7

49,400 28,392

57.5

846

1,353

2,199

7.7

48,700 27,709

56.9

983

1,696

2,678

9.7

48,844 27,576

56.5

1,119

1,533

2,652

9.6

47,591 26,481

55.6

697

1,587

2,284

8.6

47,856 26,831

56.1

585

1,658

2,243

8.4

50,022 28,140

56.3

490

1,626

2,116

7.5

51,015 28,893

56.6

440

1,544

1,984

6.9

51,942 29,666

57.1

408

1,336

1,743

5.9

52,938 30,474

57.6

364

1,283

1,647

5.4

53,912 31,058

57.6

311

1,066

1,377

4.4

54,789 31,687

57.8

379

733

1,112

3.5

55,553 32,104

57.8

712

54,618 31,639

57.9

795

(2)

1,764

(2)

(2)

3,724
4,754

(2)

(2)

5.3
5.4
6.7

(2)

(2)

(1)

(1)

1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
(1)

1987
1988
1989

1991

61.9

1,861

3,656

(1)

1980

1990

111,960 69,255

(2)

1,956

(1)

MEN
1979

1986

1,699

(1)

2002

2004

62.1

(1)

2001

2003

110,038 68,354

(1)

(2)

(2)

385
1,114

(2)

(2)

1,097
1,909

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(2)

(2)

3.4
6.0

(2)

(2)

Message

1992
1993
1994

1996

1998
1999
2000

55,475 32,337

58.3

573

1,091

1,664

5.1

56,570 33,528

59.3

674

891

1,565

4.7

57,669 34,420

59.7

542

796

1,338

3.9

58,473 34,838

59.6

619

59,825 35,521

59.4

1,147

60,973 35,761

58.7

1,039

628

1,667

4.7

61,914 36,073

58.3

768

446

1,214

3.4

63,662 36,720

57.7

582

319

901

2.5

63,647 36,544

57.4

497

247

744

2.0

63,272 36,000

56.9

582

217

799

2.2

63,236 35,853

56.7

493

213

706

2.0

64,145 36,806

57.4

470

210

680

1.8

38,129 23,329

61.2

2,070

2,644

4,714

20.2

38,944 23,626

60.7

2,104

2,990

5,095

21.6

39,672 24,294

61.2

2,394

2,778

5,172

21.3

39,777 24,365

61.3

1,651

2,561

4,212

17.3

40,433 24,989

61.8

1,492

2,603

4,095

16.4

42,172 26,003

61.7

1,348

2,499

3,847

14.8

43,506 26,869

61.8

1,198

2,356

3,554

13.2

44,961 27,863

62.0

1,192

2,125

3,317

11.9

46,365 29,078

62.7

1,105

1,946

3,051

10.5

47,495 29,820

62.8

1,008

1,542

2,550

8.6

(2)

(2)

755
673

(2)

(2)

1,374
1,820

(2)

(2)

3.9
5.1

(2)

(2)

(1)

(1)

1981
1982
1983
1984
1985

1988

5.9

(1)

1980

1987

1,885

(1)

WOMEN
1979

1986

1,231

(1)

2002

2004

653

(1)

2001

2003

58.6

(1)

1995

1997

54,826 32,155

(1)

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1989
1990

1992
1993

1996

1998
1999
2000

63.0

1,420

49,105 30,988

63.1

1,582

49,842 31,454

63.1

1,286

1,751

3,036

9.7

50,626 31,937

63.1

1,133

1,534

2,667

8.4

51,419 33,021

64.2

1,322

1,241

2,563

7.8

52,369 33,934

64.8

1,157

1,161

2,318

6.8

53,488 34,418

64.3

1,244

54,708 35,214

64.4

1,843

55,757 35,680

64.0

1,794

965

2,760

7.7

57,050 36,233

63.5

1,426

700

2,126

5.9

58,427 36,777

62.9

1,170

579

1,749

4.8

58,582 36,848

62.9

1,021

409

1,430

3.9

58,555 36,508

62.3

997

350

1,347

3.7

59,122 37,093

62.7

1,062

332

1,394

3.8

59,408 37,133

62.5

1,013

310

1,323

3.6

(2)

(2)

1,056
711
1,792

(2)

(2)

2,050
2,131
3,374

(2)

(2)

6.7
6.9
10.9

(2)

(2)

(2)

(2)

1,106
1,092

(2)

(2)

2,350
2,935

(2)

(2)

6.8
8.3

(2)

(2)

(1)

(1)

(1)

2002

2004

49,323 31,069

(1)

2001

2003

994

(1)

1995

1997

63.1

(1)

1991

1994

48,691 30,702

(1)

(1)

1 The comparability of historical labor force data has been affected at various times by methodological and
conceptual changes in the Current Population Survey (CPS). For an explanation, see the "Explanatory Notes and
Estimates of Error" section of the February 2005 and subsequent issues of Employment and Earnings, a monthly
BLS periodical .
2 Data for 1990-91 and 1996-97 reflect changes in the minimum wage that took place in those years.
NOTE: The prevailing Federal minimum wage was $2.90 in 1979, $3.10 in 1980, and $3.35 in 1981-89. The
minimum wage rose to $3.80 in April 1990, to $4.25 in April 1991, to $4.75 in October 1996, and to $5.15 in
September 1997. Data exclude the incorporated self-employed. The presence of a sizable number of workers with
reported wages below the minimum does not necessarily indicate violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as
there are numerous exemptions to the minimum wage provisions of the law. Indeed, the relatively large number
of workers with reported wages below the minimum in 1998-2004 includes some hourly-paid workers reported as
earning exactly $5.00 per hour (about 1.4 million in 1998, about 900,000 in 1999, about 600,000 in 2000, about
500,000 in 2001, about 500,000 in 2002, and about 350,000 in 2003 and in 2004); to some extent, this may
reflect rounding on the part of survey respondents.
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Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2004

Last Modified Date: April 5, 2005

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