Who Earns the Federal Minimum Wage? 2024 BLS Data in 8 Facts

The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2009, but few workers earn that little now. Here is who does, from the latest BLS report (BLS Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers, 2024).

The numbers

In 2024, 80.3 million workers age 16 and older were paid hourly rates, 55.6% of all wage and salary workers. Of those, 82,000 earned exactly $7.25 and 760,000 earned less. Together that is 1.0% of hourly workers, compared with 13.4% in 1979, when regular data collection began. BLS notes that 30 states and DC had minimum wages above the federal level in 2024.

8 facts about minimum wage workers

1. They skew young. Workers under 25 were one-fifth of hourly workers but 43% of those paid the minimum or less.
2. Teens most of all. 2.6% of hourly-paid teens (16 to 19) earned the minimum or less, nearly four times the 0.7% rate for workers 25 and older.
3. Women more than men. 1.3% of hourly-paid women versus 0.8% of men.
4. Race differs little. About 1.0% of White, Black, Asian and Hispanic hourly workers.
5. Part-time matters. 2.4% of part-time hourly workers, four times the 0.6% rate for full-time.
6. Service jobs dominate. Nearly 3 in 4 were in service occupations, mostly food preparation and serving, where tips may supplement wages.
7. Restaurants above all. Leisure and hospitality had the highest share (5.6%) and about two-thirds of all such workers.
8. Some states more than others. In Louisiana and South Carolina the share was at or slightly above 2.0%.

One catch in the data

The survey doesn’t ask whether a worker is covered by the federal or a state minimum wage law, and the hourly wage reported excludes overtime, tips and commissions. That’s why some workers show up as earning below $7.25: many are tipped workers or in jobs exempt from the law.

If you earn near the minimum

• Check your state’s minimum; if it is higher, it applies.
• If you get tips, your employer must make up the difference when tips plus cash wage fall short of the minimum.
• The fastest raises usually come from moving to full-time hours or a higher-paying employer in the same field.

Published October 27, 2026. Sources are linked in the text.

Header image: original graphic by JobPayRaise.com.