Centuries of innovation, trade, and systemic exploitation have shaped the United States economy, with cycles of boom and bust ensuring that economic progress has not been equally felt across the nation. Geographic differences in industry and policy have cemented barriers to higher-earning jobs created by long-standing structural racism and gender discrimination. As a result, these policies have not only shaped who makes up the low-wage workforce but also where jobs are disproportionally low-wage.
This tool maps where low-wage jobs in the US are concentrated and what industries are most common using Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), which divide states into areas containing no fewer than 100,000 people.
For more information on who makes up the low-wage workforce, see our explanatory feature.
In this tool, we define low-wage workers as those making less than two-thirds of the median hourly wage for workers in their prime working years (25–54 years old) in each year of the data, which equaled $16.98 an hour in 2023. We keep this methodology consistent throughout our research on the low-wage workforce: the threshold for low-wage work always equals two-thirds of the median hourly wage for workers in their prime working years, but the specific dollar threshold may change according to the year, population, and data sources used. See the technical appendix for more information.
As policymakers continue to build America’s workforce, supporting low-wage workers across the nation remains a vital and necessary avenue for creating a more equitable economy. By targeting interventions to the geographic locations and industries most in need, policymakers can support better quality and higher-earning jobs for all and promote greater economic growth.
ABOUT
This features uses data from the American Community Survey 2017–21 five-year sample. Our low-wage threshold was calculated using data from the 2023 Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) of the Current Population Survey. See the technical appendix for additional information on our methodology.
PROJECT CREDITS
This data tool was funded by the WorkRise funder collaborative. We are grateful to them and to all our funders, who make it possible for WorkRise and Urban to advance their missions. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to WorkRise, the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and recommendations of our experts. More information on our funding principles is available here. Read our terms of service here.
RESEARCH Joe Peck, William Congdon, and Kate Bahn
DESIGN Christina Baird
DATA VISUALIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT Ben Kates
EDITING Debra Foulks
WRITING Wesley Jenkins
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