Graph and download economic data for State Minimum Wage Rate for California (STTMINWGCA) from 1968 to 2025 about minimum wage, wages, CA, rate, and USA.

The minimum wage per day guaranteed by law in Mexico was decreed to increase by approximately 12 percent between 2024 and 2025, reaching 278.8 Mexican pesos in 2025. The Northern Free Zone located near the northern border was the exception, where the minimum daily wage increased to 419.88 Mexican pesos. Education and income disparity The income distribution is entirely a new story than minimum wages, in fact, there are many factors that influence the level of salaries for Mexican workers. One of the main differences is by the number of schooling years, someone with more than 18 years of study earns on average double than employees with seven to nine years. Moreover, the area of study, while statistics and finance mean salaries, the highest wages by degree, are above 30,000 Mexican pesos per month, others such as performing arts and theology rank as the lowest paying degrees in Mexico.
Poverty still among the main problems
Despite one of the main reasons for minimum wage increases being moving people out from poverty conditions, poverty continues to be one of the main problems Mexican society faces. The number of people living under poverty conditions has decreased by 8.54 million inhabitants from 2014 to 2022, nonetheless, the figure is still higher than 46.5 million. The poverty rate varies among states, with Chiapas leading the ranking with 67.4 percent of the population under such conditions, while both Baja California and Baja California Sur recorded less than 14 percent.

The federally mandated minimum wage in the United States is 7.25 U.S. dollars per hour, although the minimum wage varies from state to state. As of January 1, 2025, the District of Columbia had the highest minimum wage in the U.S., at 17.5 U.S. dollars per hour. This was followed by Washington, which had 16.66 U.S. dollars per hour as the state minimum wage. Minimum wage workers Minimum wage jobs are traditionally seen as “starter jobs” in the U.S., or first jobs for teenagers and young adults, and the number of people working minimum wage jobs has decreased from almost four million in 1979 to about 247,000 in 2020. However, the number of workers earning less than minimum wage in 2020 was significantly higher, at about 865,000. Minimum wage jobs Minimum wage jobs are primarily found in food preparation and serving occupations, as well as sales jobs (primarily in retail). Because the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation, nor has it been increased since 2009, it is becoming harder and harder live off of a minimum wage wage job, and for those workers to afford essential things like rent.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Jobs by Wage Level (EQ1)

FULL MEASURE NAME Distribution of jobs by low-, middle-, and high-wage occupations

LAST UPDATED January 2019

DESCRIPTION Jobs by wage level refers to the distribution of jobs by low-, middle- and high-wage occupations. In the San Francisco Bay Area, low-wage occupations have a median hourly wage of less than 80% of the regional median wage; median wages for middle-wage occupations range from 80% to 120% of the regional median wage, and high-wage occupations have a median hourly wage above 120% of the regional median wage.

DATA SOURCE California Employment Development Department OES (2001-2017) http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/data/oes-employment-and-wages.html

American Community Survey (2001-2017) http://api.census.gov

CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Jobs are determined to be low-, middle-, or high-wage based on the median hourly wage of their occupational classification in the most recent year. Low-wage jobs are those that pay below 80% of the regional median wage. Middle-wage jobs are those that pay between 80% and 120% of the regional median wage. High-wage jobs are those that pay above 120% of the regional median wage. Regional median hourly wages are estimated from the American Community Survey and are published on the Vital Signs Income indicator page. For the national context analysis, occupation wage classifications are unique to each metro area. A low-wage job in New York, for instance, may be a middle-wage job in Miami. For the Bay Area in 2017, the median hourly wage for low-wage occupations was less than $20.86 per hour. For middle-wage jobs, the median ranged from $20.86 to $31.30 per hour; and for high-wage jobs, the median wage was above $31.30 per hour.

Occupational employment and wage information comes from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. Regional and subregional data is published by the California Employment Development Department. Metro data is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The OES program collects data on wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments to produce employment and wage estimates for some 800 occupations. Data from non-incorporated self-employed persons are not collected, and are not included in these estimates. Wage estimates represent a three-year rolling average.

Due to changes in reporting during the analysis period, subregion data from the EDD OES have been aggregated to produce geographies that can be compared over time. West Bay is San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin counties. North Bay is Sonoma, Solano and Napa counties. East Bay is Alameda and Contra Costa counties. South Bay is Santa Clara County from 2001-2004 and Santa Clara and San Benito counties from 2005-2017.

Due to changes in occupation classifications during the analysis period, all occupations have been reassigned to 2010 SOC codes. For pre-2009 reporting years, all employment in occupations that were split into two or more 2010 SOC occupations are assigned to the first 2010 SOC occupation listed in the crosswalk table provided by the Census Bureau. This method assumes these occupations always fall in the same wage category, and sensitivity analysis of this reassignment method shows this is true in most cases.

In order to use OES data for time series analysis, several steps were taken to handle missing wage or employment data. For some occupations, such as airline pilots and flight attendants, no wage information was provided and these were removed from the analysis. Other occupations did not record a median hourly wage (mostly due to irregular work hours) but did record an annual average wage. Nearly all these occupations were in education (i.e. teachers). In this case, a 2080 hour-work year was assumed and [annual average wage/2080] was used as a proxy for median income. Most of these occupations were classified as high-wage, thus dispelling concern of underestimating a median wage for a teaching occupation that requires less than 2080 hours of work a year (equivalent to 12 months fulltime). Finally, the OES has missing employment data for occupations across the time series. To make the employment data comparable between years, gaps in employment data for occupations are ‘filled-in’ using linear interpolation if there are at least two years of employment data found in OES. Occupations with less than two years of employment data were dropped from the analysis. Over 80% of interpolated cells represent missing employment data for just one year in the time series. While this interpolating technique may impact year-over-year comparisons, the long-term trends represented in the analysis generally are accurate.

The minimum wage is a basic labour standard that sets the lowest wage rate that an employer can pay to employees who are covered by the legislation. Today, one of its main purposes is to protect non-unionized workers in unskilled jobs, although it can also influence, directly or indirectly, the level of compensation of other employees as well. A minimum wage constitutes a floor above which employees or their unions may negotiate with management for higher remuneration. However, it is rarely static: adjustments are required from time to time to maintain its relevance in changing economic and social conditions.

The wages on the Job Bank website are specific to an occupation and provide information on the earnings of workers at the regional level. Wages for most occupations are also provided at the national and provincial level. In Canada, all jobs are associated with one specific occupational grouping which is determined by the National Occupational Classification. For most occupations, a minimum, median and maximum wage estimates are displayed. They are update annually. If you have comments or questions regarding the wage information, please contact the Labour Market Information Division at: NC-LMI-IMT-GD@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

This table contains data on the living wage and the percent of families with incomes below the living wage for California, its counties, regions and cities/towns. Living wage is the wage needed to cover basic family expenses (basic needs budget) plus all relevant taxes; it does not include publicly provided income or housing assistance. The percent of families below the living wage was calculated using data from the Living Wage Calculator and the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. The table is part of a series of indicators in the Healthy Communities Data and Indicators Project of the Office of Health Equity. The living wage is the wage or annual income that covers the cost of the bare necessities of life for a worker and his/her family. These necessities include housing, transportation, food, childcare, health care, and payment of taxes. Low income populations and non-white race/ethnic have disproportionately lower wages, poorer housing, and higher levels of food insecurity. More information about the data table and a data dictionary can be found in the About/Attachments section.

Average hourly and weekly wage rate, and median hourly and weekly wage rate by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), type of work, gender, and age group.

In 2024, Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California, households needed an hourly wage of almost ** U.S. dollars to afford the rent of a two-bedroom apartment. San Francisco had one of the least affordable two-bedroom apartments, as a household would have to earn at least **** U.S. dollars hourly to afford rent . These figures are considerably higher than the average minimum wage, which is in place in many states. There was no state in which a minimum wage worker could afford rent for the average two-bedroom apartment, if they only worked ** hours a week.

This data table has been removed. The information can now be found on the Minimum Wage Database. The dataset for historical minimum wage rates is regularly updated and can be found at Historical minimum wage rates in Canada.

Minimum wage law and hourly wage, bonus, and weekly hours (NAWS-California).

In March 2025, inflation amounted to 2.4 percent, while wages grew by 4.3 percent. The inflation rate has not exceeded the rate of wage growth since January 2023. Inflation in 2022 The high rates of inflation in 2022 meant that the real terms value of American wages took a hit. Many Americans report feelings of concern over the economy and a worsening of their financial situation. The inflation situation in the United States is one that was experienced globally in 2022, mainly due to COVID-19 related supply chain constraints and disruption due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The monthly inflation rate for the U.S. reached a 40-year high in June 2022 at 9.1 percent, and annual inflation for 2022 reached eight percent. Without appropriate wage increases, Americans will continue to see a decline in their purchasing power. Wages in the U.S. Despite the level of wage growth reaching 6.7 percent in the summer of 2022, it has not been enough to curb the impact of even higher inflation rates. The federally mandated minimum wage in the United States has not increased since 2009, meaning that individuals working minimum wage jobs have taken a real terms pay cut for the last twelve years. There are discrepancies between states - the minimum wage in California can be as high as 15.50 U.S. dollars per hour, while a business in Oklahoma may be as low as two U.S. dollars per hour. However, even the higher wage rates in states like California and Washington may be lacking - one analysis found that if minimum wage had kept up with productivity, the minimum hourly wage in the U.S. should have been 22.88 dollars per hour in 2021. Additionally, the impact of decreased purchasing power due to inflation will impact different parts of society in different ways with stark contrast in average wages due to both gender and race.

The dataset contains information on the jobs-housing fit in census tracts across six counties in the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) region between 2021-2023. This dataset includes the data used to develop Map 7 for the Connect SoCal 2024 Equity Analysis Technical Report, adopted on April 4, 2024. The dataset includes two fields to describe jobs-housing fit (JHFIT) based on information from the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) 8.0. "Jobs-Housing Fit All" is measured as the ratio between the total number of jobs and housing units in a census tract. "Jobs-Housing Fit Low" is measured as the ratio between the total number of low wage jobs and affordable rental housing units in a census tract. In this dataset, "low wage jobs" is defined as jobs that earn $1,250/month or less and "affordable rental units" as rental units where a household whose income is at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income can live without spending more than 30 percent of their income.

When adjusted for inflation, the 2024 federal minimum wage in the United States is over 40 percent lower than the minimum wage in 1970. Although the real dollar minimum wage in 1970 was only 1.60 U.S. dollars, when expressed in nominal 2024 dollars this increases to 13.05 U.S. dollars. This is a significant difference from the federal minimum wage in 2024 of 7.25 U.S. dollars.

Overview: Each quarter, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) publishes Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) statistics on Open Government Data Portal, including quarterly and annual LMIA data related to, but not limited to, requested and approved TFW positions, employment location, employment occupations, sectors, TFWP stream and temporary foreign workers by country of origin. The TFWP does not collect data on the number of TFWs who are hired by an employer and have arrived in Canada. The decision to issue a work permit rests with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and not all positions on a positive LMIA result in a work permit. For these reasons, data provided in the LMIA statistics cannot be used to calculate the number of TFWs that have entered or will enter Canada. IRCC publishes annual statistics on the number of foreign workers who are issued a work permit: https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/360024f2-17e9-4558-bfc1-3616485d65b9. Please note that all quarterly tables have been updated to NOC 2021 (5 digit and training, education, experience and responsibilities (TEER) based). As such, Table 5, 8, 17, and 24 will no longer be updated but will remain as archived tables. Frequency of Publication: Quarterly LMIA statistics cover data for the four quarters of the previous calendar year and the quarter(s) of the current calendar year. Quarterly data is released within two to three months of the most recent quarter. The release dates for quarterly data are as follows: Q1 (January to March) will be published by early June of the current year; Q2 (April to June) will be published by early September of the current year; Q3 (July to September) will be published by early December of the current year; and Q4 (October to December) will be published by early March of the next year. Annual statistics cover eight consecutive years of LMIA data and are scheduled to be released in March of the next year. Published Data: As part of the quarterly release, the TFWP updates LMIA data for 28 tables broken down by: TFW positions: Tables 1 to 10, 12, 13, and 22 to 24; LMIA applications: Tables 14 to 18; Employers: Tables 11, and 19 to 21; and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP): Tables 25 to 28. In addition, the TFWP publishes 2 lists of employers who were issued a positive or negative LMIA: Employers who were issued a positive LMIA by Program Stream, NOC, and Business Location (https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/90fed587-1364-4f33-a9ee-208181dc0b97/resource/b369ae20-0c7e-4d10-93ca-07c86c91e6fe); and Employers who were issued a negative LMIA by Program Stream, NOC, and Business Location (https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/f82f66f2-a22b-4511-bccf-e1d74db39ae5/resource/94a0dbee-e9d9-4492-ab52-07f0f0fb255b). Things to Remember: 1. When data are presented on positive or negative LMIAs, the decision date is used to allocate which quarter the data falls into. However, when data are presented on when LMIAs are requested, it is based on the date when the LMIA is received by ESDC. 2. As of the publication of 2022Q1- 2023Q4 data (published in April 2024) and going forward, all LMIAs in support of 'Permanent Residence (PR) Only' are included in TFWP statistics, unless indicated otherwise. All quarterly data in this report includes PR Only LMIAs. Dual-intent LMIAs and corresponding positions are included under their respective TFWP stream (e.g., low-wage, high-wage, etc.) This may impact program reporting over time. 3. Attention should be given for data that are presented by ‘Unique Employers’ when it comes to manipulating the data within that specific table. One employer could be counted towards multiple groups if they have multiple positive LMIAs across categories such as program stream, province or territory, or economic region. For example, an employer could request TFWs for two different business locations, and this employer would be counted in the statistics of both economic regions. As such, the sum of the rows within these ‘Unique Employer’ tables will not add up to the aggregate total.

Overview: Each quarter, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) publishes Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) statistics on Open Government Data Portal, including quarterly and annual LMIA data related to, but not limited to, requested and approved TFW positions, employment location, employment occupations, sectors, TFWP stream and temporary foreign workers by country of origin. The TFWP does not collect data on the number of TFWs who are hired by an employer and have arrived in Canada. The decision to issue a work permit rests with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and not all positions on a positive LMIA result in a work permit. For these reasons, data provided in the LMIA statistics cannot be used to calculate the number of TFWs that have entered or will enter Canada. IRCC publishes annual statistics on the number of foreign workers who are issued a work permit: https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/360024f2-17e9-4558-bfc1-3616485d65b9. Please note that all annual tables have been updated to NOC 2021 (5 digit and training, education, experience and responsibilities (TEER) based). As such, Table 5, 8, 17, and 24 will no longer be updated but will remain as archived tables. Frequency of Publication: Quarterly LMIA statistics cover data for the four quarters of the previous calendar year and the quarter(s) of the current calendar year. Quarterly data is released within two to three months of the most recent quarter. The release dates for quarterly data are as follows: Q1 (January to March) will be published by early June of the current year; Q2 (April to June) will be published by early September of the current year; Q3 (July to September) will be published by early December of the current year; and Q4 (October to December) will be published by early March of the next year. Annual statistics cover eight consecutive years of LMIA data and are scheduled to be released in March of the next year. Published Data: As part of the quarterly release, the TFWP updates LMIA data for 28 tables broken down by: TFW positions: Tables 1 to 10, 12, 13, and 22 to 24; LMIA applications: Tables 14 to 18; Employers: Tables 11, and 19 to 21; Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP): Tables 25 to 28. In addition, the TFWP publishes 2 lists of employers who were issued a positive or negative LMIA: Employers who were issued a positive LMIA by Program Stream, NOC, and Business Location (https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/90fed587-1364-4f33-a9ee-208181dc0b97/resource/b369ae20-0c7e-4d10-93ca-07c86c91e6fe); and Employers who were issued a negative LMIA by Program Stream, NOC, and Business Location (https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/f82f66f2-a22b-4511-bccf-e1d74db39ae5/resource/94a0dbee-e9d9-4492-ab52-07f0f0fb255b) Things to Remember: 1. When data are presented on positive or negative LMIAs, the decision date is used to allocate which quarter the data falls into. However, when data are presented on when LMIAs are requested, it is based on the date when the LMIA is received by ESDC. 2. As of the publication of 2016-2023 annual data (published in April 2024) and going forward, all LMIAs in support of 'Permanent Residence (PR) Only' are included in TFWP statistics, unless indicated otherwise. All annual data in this report includes PR Only LMIAs. Dual-intent LMIAs and corresponding positions are included under their respective TFWP stream (e.g., low-wage, high-wage, etc.) This may impact program reporting over time. 3. Attention should be given for data that are presented by ‘Unique Employers’ when it comes to manipulating the data within that specific table. One employer could be counted towards multiple groups if they have multiple positive LMIAs across categories such as program stream, province or territory, or economic region. For example, an employer could request TFWs for two different business locations, and this employer would be counted in the statistics of both economic regions. As such, the sum of the rows within these ‘Unique Employer’ tables will not add up to the aggregate total.

Average weekly earnings, average hourly wage rate and average usual weekly hours by union status and type of work, last 5 years.

The minimum wage is a basic labour standard that sets the lowest wage rate that an employer can pay to employees who are covered by the legislation. Today, one of its main purposes is to protect non-unionized workers in unskilled jobs, although it can also influence, directly or indirectly, the level of compensation of other employees as well. A minimum wage constitutes a floor above which employees or their unions may negotiate with management for higher remuneration. However, it is rarely static: adjustments are required from time to time to maintain its relevance in changing economic and social conditions.

Provincial regulations establish the province’s minimum wage. Minimum wage is the lowest legal wage employers can pay their employees. This dataset includes minimum wage rates in Nova Scotia dating back to 2002. Employers, employees and the public request minimum wage data, including in relation to historical rates.

Relative concentration of the estimated number of people in the Southern California region that live in a household defined as "low income." There are multiple ways to define low income. These data apply the most common standard: low income population consists of all members of households that collectively have income less than twice the federal poverty threshold that applies to their household type. Household type refers to the household's resident composition: the number of independent adults plus dependents that can be of any age, from children to elderly. For example, a household with four people ' one working adult parent and three dependent children ' has a different poverty threshold than a household comprised of four unrelated independent adults.

Due to high estimate uncertainty for many block group estimates of the number of people living in low income households, some records cannot be reliably assigned a class and class code comparable to those assigned to race/ethnicity data from the decennial Census.

"Relative concentration" is a measure that compares the proportion of population within each Census block group data unit to the proportion of all people that live within the 13,312 block groups in the Southern California RRK region. See the "Data Units" description below for how these relative concentrations are broken into categories in this "low income" metric.