Apr 6, 2022 - News

Millions of Texans don't make a "living wage"

Percentage of workers earning less than $15/hour
Reproduced from Oxfam America via U.S. Census; Map: Axios Visuals

Nearly 40% of all Texas workers make less than $15 per hour, according to an Oxfam America analysis of census data.

Why it matters: A huge swath of the population is living on less than the “living wage.”

Details: About 5.7 million Texas workers would benefit from the state increasing its minimum wage to $15 an hour, per Oxfam.

Zoom out: Nationally, an average of 32% of workers earn less than $15 per hour.

  • 51.9 million Americans earn less than $31,200 a year.

By the numbers: Workers of color are more likely to make less than $15 per hour compared to their white counterparts in Texas.

  • 48% of Black workers and 54% of Latino workers make less than $15 per hour, compared to 26.5% of white workers.
  • 60% of women of color here earned less than $15 per hour compared to the national average of 50%.
  • 49% of women workers make less than $15 per hour in Texas, compared to nearly 42% of men.
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