Data study · income
Living on Minimum Wage in Every State
What a full-time minimum wage job actually leaves in your pocket after federal taxes, how many hours of work it takes to buy $100 of goods, and how big a mortgage it supports. Pick a state for the full breakdown.
- Highest take-home $2,737/mo District of Columbia
- At the federal floor $1,161/mo $7.25/hr, 20 states
- Gap $18,915 a year, top vs floor
- Tax year 2026 federal brackets
Monthly take-home pay, ranked
Each state’s page breaks down the taxes, the hours of work behind a $100 purchase including local sales tax, and the mortgage a minimum wage income supports. For the wage rates themselves, see minimum wage by state.
Living on minimum wage in your state
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Living on minimum wage — FAQ
Where is take-home pay on minimum wage highest?
District of Columbia, where a full-time worker at $18.40 an hour takes home about $32,842 a year, or $2,737 a month, after federal taxes.
What is take-home pay at the federal minimum wage?
Full-time at $7.25 an hour pays $15,080 a year. A single filer owes no federal income tax and $1,154 of Social Security and Medicare, leaving about $13,926. 20 states still pay only the federal minimum.
Does this include state income tax?
No. The figures subtract federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare only. Nine states do not tax wages; in the rest, a paycheck will be somewhat lower.
Data: U.S. Department of Labor; Internal Revenue Service; State departments of revenue, via APIVerve. Our tables, charts and text are licensed CC BY-NC 4.0: share and adapt them for non-commercial use as long as you credit us. For commercial use or bulk data, use the APIVerve API. See the data terms. Cite as: Digest Your Finances, “Living on Minimum Wage by State”, https://digestyourfinances.com/studies/living-on-minimum-wage/ — based on U.S. Department of Labor; Internal Revenue Service; State departments of revenue. CC BY-NC 4.0.
Full-time is 40 hours a week for 52 weeks. Take-home uses 2026 federal brackets for a single filer with the standard deduction, plus Social Security and Medicare at 7.65%. State and local income taxes are not included.
