This is how much the US minimum wage was worth the year you were born
Here's what the federal minimum was the year you were born and how much its true value actually was.
1938
On June 25, 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the landmark Fair Labor Standards Act, which established a federal minimum wage of $0.25 an hour. That's the equivalent of $4.63 in 2021 dollars.
1939
One year after it was established, the federal minimum wage was raised to $0.30 an hour. The value of that amount in 2021 is $5.64.
1940
The federal minimum wage remained $0.30 in 1940, amounting to $5.68 in 2021 dollars.
1941
In 1941, the value of the $0.30 federal minimum remained consistent. Adjusted for inflation today, it would be worth $5.60 an hour.
1942
After the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. entered World War II. Though the minimum wage held steady at $0.30 an hour, it's value decreased. In today's money, it would be worth $5.03.
1943
The purchasing power of the $0.30 federal minimum wage continued to plummet, with it only being equivalent to $4.67 an hour today.
1944
1944 was the last year the federal minimum wage was $0.30. Its value today would be $4.53.
1945
In 1945, the federal minimum wage was increased to $0.40, where it remained for the next five years. That rate is worth $5.91 today.
1946
The value of the federal minimum wage dipped slightly for 1946, shaking out to $5.78 today.
1947
The purchasing power of $.40 an hour dropped significantly in 1947, which saw the U.S. solidified in the Cold War. In today's money, it was only worth $4.89.
1948
The value of the $.40 minimum wage dropped again in 1948 to $4.44 in today's dollars.
1949
The $0.40 federal minimum wage in 1949 would be worth $4.38 in today's dollars.
1950
In January of 1950, the federal minimum wage was raised to by 35 cents to $0.75. This was the equivalent to $8.39 today.
1951
The federal minimum wage remained set at $0.75 for five years. In 1951, this rate was the equivalent of only $7.77 today.
1952
The $0.75 minimum wage in 1952 would be equivalent to $7.44 in 2021. Its value dropped $0.33 from the year before.
1953
The value of the $0.75 minimum wage dropped slightly to $7.42 in 1953.
1954
The buying power of the $0.75 minimum wage dipped again in 1954 to $7.33 in today's dollars. That's almost a dollar's difference from 1950.
1955
The value of the $0.75 minimum wage improved only slightly in 1955 to the equivalent of $7.39 in 2021.
1956
In March 1956, the federal minimum wage was increased by 25 cents to $1.00. This bumped up the buying power of minimum wage to $9.81 in today's money.
1957
The value of the $1.00 minimum wage dropped slightly but was still strong in 1957 when it was worth the equivalent of $9.53 today.
1958
In 1958, the $1.00 federal minimum wage was worth the equivalent of $9.20 today.
1959
In 1959, the value of the $1.00 federal minimum wage decreased again to the equivalent of $9.07 in 2021.
1960
In the final year the minimum wage was $1.00, its purchasing power dipped below $9 today. It would be the equivalent of $8.98 an hour in 2021.
1961
After John F. Kennedy became president in 1961, the federal minimum wage was increased to $1.15. This pushed the value of minimum wage back over $10, putting it at $10.15 in today's money.
1962
The federal minimum wage remained at $1.15 for just one more year, with its value decreasing slightly to $10.08.
1963
Following the historic March on Washington in August of 1963, whose organizers were pushing for a $2 an hour minimum wage, the federal minimum wage was bumped up by 10 cents to $1.25. That would be worth $10.71 an hour today.
1964
In 1964, the $1.25 was worth a bit less, ringing in at $10.64 in today's money.
1965
The federal minimum wage of $1.25 in 1965 was worth $10.54 in 2021 dollars.
1966
1966 was the final year the minimum wage stayed at $1.25. That year, it was the equivalent of $10.34 today.
1967
In 1967, the federal minimum wage increased to $1.40, which is worth $11.19 today, almost $4 more than today's minimum wage.
1968
In 1968, the federal minimum wage increased again to $1.60 an hour. This marks the peak buying power of minimum wage in inflation-adjusted terms as this rate is equivalent to $12.34 today. That's $5 more than today's minimum wage of $7.25.
1969
The minimum wage remained $1.60 in 1969 and was worth $11.82 in today's money.
1970
In 1970, the $1.60 federal minimum wage was worth the equivalent of $11.13 today.
1971
The value of the $1.60 continued to decline. In 1971, it was worth the equivalent of $10.57 today.
1972
In 1972, the $1.60 federal minimum wage would be worth $10.24 today.
1973
In the final year of the $1.60 minimum wage, it's value was the equivalent to $9.88 today.
1974
As the effects of the Watergate scandal continued to ripple across the country, the federal minimum wage increased to $2.00. This bumped the value of minimum wage back up to $11.29 in today's dollars.
1975
In 1975, the year the Vietnam War ended, the minimum wage was bumped up by 10 cents to $2.10. Even with this increase, the value of the minimum wage still dropped from the year before to $10.60.
1976
The minimum wage was increased by another 20 cents to $2.30 in 1976. This wage is the equivalent of $10.88 today.
1977
In 1977, the federal minimum wage remained at $2.30, though it's value dropped slightly. It would be worth $10.34 today.
1978
In 1978, the federal minimum wage increased again to $2.65 for all covered, nonexempt workers. This is the equivalent of $11.15 in 2021 dollars.
1979
Minimum wage continued to rise at the end of the decade, being set at $2.90 in 1979. This is the equivalent of $11.17 in 2021.
1980
The '80s were also kicked off with an increase to the federal minimum wage from $2.90 to $3.10. That's equivalent to $10.48 in 2021.
1981
The minimum wage was bumped up again the next year from $3.10 to $3.35 an hour. Despite the increase, that would be worth just $10.13 in today's money, a decline from previous years.
1982
By 1982, the U.S. was in the midst of its worst recession since the Great Depression. That year, the $3.35 was worth only $9.34. This was the first time in almost a decade the value of minimum wage dipped below $10 an hour.
1983
In 1983, the year of the Cabbage Patch Kids craze, the value of the federal minimum wage of $3.35 dropped again to the equivalent of $9.01 today.
1984
By 1984, the $3.35 federal minimum wage was only worth the equivalent of $8.65 an hour in today's dollars.
1985
The value of the $3.35 federal minimum wage continued to drop, clocking in at a value of $8.35 in today's dollars by 1985.
1986
In 1986, $3.35 an hour was the equivalent of $8.04 today.
1987
When adjusted for inflation, the value of the $3.35 minimum wage in 1987 would be just $7.92 today.
1988
By 1988, the federal minimum wage still hadn't been increased from $3.35, but it's buying power plummeted even further to the equivalent of $7.62 today. That's the lowest value for the federal minimum wage since 1955.
1989
The decade of "greed is good" closed out with the federal minimum wage still stagnant at $3.35. In 2021 dollars, that's the equivalent of $7.28.
1990
In 1990, the federal minimum wage was increased again to $3.80 an hour. However, the buying power of that wage remained historically low, coming in at $7.85 in today's money.
1991
The minimum wage increased again in 1991 to $4.25 an hour, which would be equivalent to $8.30 today.
1992
In 1992, the $4.25 federal minimum wage would be equivalent to $8.09 today.
1993
The federal minimum wage stayed at $4.25 an hour in 1993. When adjusted for inflation, that would be $7.84 in today's dollars.
1994
In 1994, the minimum wage of $4.25 would be the equivalent of $7.65 an hour today.
1995
1995 was the final year the minimum wage stayed at $4.25 an hour. At that time, that rate was worth the equivalent of $7.44 today.
1996
In 1996, the federal minimum wage was raised 50 cents to $4.75 an hour. That would equate to $8.09 today.
1997
In 1997, the federal minimum wage was increased again after a little less than a year to $5.15, which is worth $8.51 in 2021 dollars. After this increase, the minimum wage would remain unchanged for the next decade.
1998
In 1998, the $5.15 federal minimum wage was worth the equivalent of $8.38 today.
1999
The 1999 minimum wage of $5.15 when adjusted for inflation would be $8.24 in 2021.
2000
At the end of the millennium, the minimum wage of $5.15 an hour was worth the equivalent of $8.02 today.
2001
Before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour was worth $7.74 today. Afterward, it was worth the equivalent of $7.62.
2002
In 2002, the value of the $5.15 an hour minimum wage was $7.65 in today's dollars.
2003
The buying power of the minimum wage continued to decrease, dropping to the equivalent of $7.45 in 2021.
2004
By 2004, the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour was worth the equivalent of $7.31 today.
2005
When adjusted for inflation, $5.15 an hour in 2005 would equal just $7.10 today.
2006
In the final year the federal minimum wage remained $5.15 an hour, it was equivalent to a mere $6.83 in today's money.
2007
In 2007, the federal minimum wage was increased to $5.85 an hour for all covered, nonexempt workers. This is the equivalent of $7.60 in today's money.
2008
In 2008, ahead of the election of President Barack Obama, the minimum wage was increased again to $6.55. That's the equivalent of $8.16 in 2021 dollars.
2009
In 2009, the minimum wage increased again to $7.25, where it has remained ever since. At the time, that was equivalent to $9.03.
2010
The federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 an hour for more than 11 years, making it the longest drought between increases. According to the 2021 guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services, the federal poverty level or a family of two is $16,500. However, at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, working 40 hours per week and 52 weeks per year equals an annual income of just $15,080. So far in 2021, President Joe Biden has continued to support legislation that would gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025.
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