Trends The History of The Minimum Wage Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Written by Joshua Ritchie Published Aug 3, 2010 Advertising Disclosure The views expressed on this blog are those of the bloggers, and not necessarily those of Intuit. Third-party blogger may have received compensation for their time and services. Click here to read full disclosure on third-party bloggers. This blog does not provide legal, financial, accounting or tax advice. The content on this blog is "as is" and carries no warranties. Intuit does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, reliability, and completeness of the content on this blog. After 20 days, comments are closed on posts. Intuit may, but has no obligation to, monitor comments. Comments that include profanity or abusive language will not be posted. Click here to read full Terms of Service. Save more, spend smarter, and make your money go further Sign up for Free The past couple of years have been a financial nightmare for millions of Americans who have lost their jobs or homes (or both) and are struggling under mounting debt. But the reality is that for a segment of the population — those who work for minimum wage — even the boom years that preceded the crash have probably not been much easier. Today, working for minimum wage pretty much means living at or barely above the poverty line. If you live in Georgia or Wyoming, for example, and you make $5.15 an hour, you have the dubious honor of receiving the lowest minimum wage rate in the country. Assuming you work 40-hour weeks and are paid for 52 weeks a year (so you either don’t take any vacation and sick days or you have those paid by your employer), you’d be living on $206 a week, barely above $10,712 a year — before payroll tax withholding. Even at the highest minimum wage rate in the country, found in Washington at $8.55 an hour, you’d be earning $17,784 a year. Those wages are reality for nearly 3.6 million workers throughout the country. So who works for the minimum wage in America? We look at some statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, including an age and gender breakdown, as well as a historical perspective on minimum wages. Save more, spend smarter, and make your money go further Sign up for Free Written by Joshua Ritchie More from Joshua Ritchie Browse Related Articles Trends Who Needs a PhD? 5 Jobs That Pay Well Without a Degree Retirement Chapter 3: How to Create a Retirement Budget Retirement Chapter 2: How Much of Your Paycheck Should You Save Ea… Retirement Chapter 11: How to Retire Early Budgeting Chapter 1: What Is a Budget & How to Create One Family Finances How To Determine What Child Care Choice Is Right For Yo… Investments How to Use Real Estate to Earn Money While You Sleep Trends MintFamily With Beth Kobliner: A Penny for Your Thought… Budgeting Chapter 2: What to Include in Your Budget Relationships Salary vs. Hourly: What’s the Difference? Leave a Reply Cancel reply