Minimum wage in the United States

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In the United States, the minimum wage is set by federal U.S. labor law and a range of state and local laws. The first federal minimum wage was instituted in the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but later found to be unconstitutional. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act established it at 25¢ an hour ($5.72 in 2025). In 1968, its purchasing power peaked at $1.60 ($14.81 in 2025). As a result of inflation in the decades since, this remains the highest purchasing power the minimum wage has ever had. In 2009, Congress increased it to $7.25 per hour with the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. It has not been increased since. Employers have to pay workers the highest minimum wage of those prescribed by federal, state, and local laws. As of July 2025, 22 states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages above the federal level. In 2024, 843,000 hourly paid workers earned the federal minimum wage or less, representing 1.0 percent of...

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