Looking for information on which states have the most low income residents (minimum wage, statistics)

[I'm Retired Now]

I am trying to settle an argument with some friends about the minimum wage. Could you help me research?

President Obama and his friends in the Democratic Party want to increase the minimum wage to $10.50 an hour. Studies I can find say about 3% of working Americans make the minimum wage ($7.25 an hour) or less. But I read somewhere that about 25% of American workers make $10.50 or below, so an increase in the minimum wage would have a big effect on about a quarter of Americans. (Plus their families)

But what I am looking for is a breakdown by State. I would suspect that places like Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama would have maybe 50% of their residents currently making less than $10.50 per hour and maybe a place like New Jersey it would be maybe 10%.

Can anyone find me a list of what percent of American workers currently make less than $10.50 an hour BY STATE?

(PLEASE.. Don't turn this into another discussion on the merits of the minimum wage. I am just looking for information on statistics on low wage workers by State for all 50 US States.)

[Iamme73]

Originally Posted by I'm Retired Now

I am trying to settle an argument with some friends about the minimum wage. Could you help me research?

President Obama and his friends in the Democratic Party want to increase the minimum wage to $10.50 an hour. Studies I can find say about 3% of working Americans make the minimum wage ($7.25 an hour) or less. But I read somewhere that about 25% of American workers make $10.50 or below, so an increase in the minimum wage would have a big effect on about a quarter of Americans. (Plus their families)

But what I am looking for is a breakdown by State. I would suspect that places like Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama would have maybe 50% of their residents currently making less than $10.50 per hour and maybe a place like New Jersey it would be maybe 10%.

Can anyone find me a list of what percent of American workers currently make less than $10.50 an hour BY STATE?

(PLEASE.. Don't turn this into another discussion on the merits of the minimum wage. I am just looking for information on statistics on low wage workers by State for all 50 US States.)

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/statemedian/

I know that link doesnt give you the exact information you are looking for, but it lists the states with the highest median income and the lowest median income.

It stands to reason that those states with the lowest median incomes would be impacted by a minimum wage increase.

It depends on what you mean by most.

If you are looking for the highest number of workers earning minimum wage, go with the largest states. Like Cali, or New York or Florida or Texas will definitely have the most total workers who earn minimum wage.

If by most you mean as a percentage of that state's workforce, then you go with the poorest states.

So my guess would be Mississippi, Alabama, New Mexico, West Virginia, etc have the highest percentage of minimum wage workers.

Opps sorry didn't read your post very well, you are clearly looking for percentage. Your thinking is in the right direction. The poorest states have the highest percentage of minimum wage workers.

[greywar]

Yeah the census has probably the best information for that, you CAN drill down into individual states though, but its a bit of work to discover.

whats the argument, maybe there is another way of looking at it.

[texan2yankee]

Top 5 Lowest per capita personal income by state in 2012 was:

1 Mississippi $33,000
2 Idaho $34,000
3 South Carolina $34,000
4 West Virginia $34,000
5 Utah $35,000

Unfortunately, no other breakout was available.

[DC at the Ridge]

This table from the Census Bureau provides you with the percentage of the population living below the poverty level broken down by state. It might be helpful.

State Rankings--Statistical Abstract of the United States--Persons Below Poverty Level

[I'm Retired Now]

I spent the afternoon at the library and still could not find a percentage breakdown, even with the help of a librarian!

The people against the increase in the minimum wage always use the argument that very few people actually make the minimum wage. But what they don't say is if the minimum wage goes up to $10.50 an hour, then it would impact lots of people. Plus it may have an impact on people making $10.51 to $12.00 an hour because that would be the current rate of Assistant Managers in Retail and they would need to be paid a few dollars more than the front line entry level people or they would say being an Assistant Manager at Burger King is not worth it.

Regardless, you would think one of the advocacy groups promoting a higher minimum wage would present their stats on how many people in the five States mentioned above it would help. Maybe as many as 50% of the population in traditionally low wage Mississippi.

Anyone else have any idea how I can find the statistics. (The PERCENTAGE of workers earning under $10.50 an hour by State.)

[DC at the Ridge]

Go to this website.

Figure L, a statistical table near the end of the study, might be helpful.

Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 would give working families, and the overall economy, a much-needed boost | Economic Policy Institute

And they list their source material as well.