Apr 6, 2022 - News
Millions of Texans don't make a "living wage"
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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.”
- The living wage for an adult with no children is $15.24 in Texas, as calculated by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology tool.
- The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 for 13 years.
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.