The varied landscape of minimum wages and tip credits in the U.S.
While service quality is the main driver of Americans’ tipping decisions, about three-in-ten U.S. adults also cite workers’ pay before tips as a major factor they consider.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
While service quality is the main driver of Americans’ tipping decisions, about three-in-ten U.S. adults also cite workers’ pay before tips as a major factor they consider.
Putting minimum wage policy in the hands of lawmakers is one of several ways in which the U.S. approach stands apart from other countries.
About six-in-ten Americans (62%) say they favor raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, including 40% who strongly back the idea.
The $7.25 federal minimum wage is used in just 21 states, which collectively account for about 40% of all U.S. wage and salary workers.
About one-in-ten Asian Americans live in poverty. Pew Research Center conducted 18 focus groups in 12 languages to explore their stories and experiences.
Democrats are largely united in backing a $15 an hour federal minimum wage. Republican opinion on this issue is more divided.
Although most Americans back a higher minimum wage, wide disparities in local living costs make finding an appropriate rate difficult.
Despite some ups and downs over the past several decades, today’s real average wage in the U.S. has about the same purchasing power it did 40 years ago. And most of what wage gains there have been have flowed to the highest-paid tier of workers.
While the idea of raising the minimum wage is broadly popular, efforts to do so at the national level have stalled. We gathered key facts looking at the issue.
The cost of living can vary widely not just from state to state but within individual states, which can make setting an appropriate minimum wage more difficult.
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