Minimum Wage Inflation Calculator
Compare minimum wage purchasing power.
Minimum Wage Inflation Calculator: Scenario Inputs
Annual percentage rate or benchmark index change.
Inflation & Purchasing Power Analysis
Over 3 years at 3.5% inflation, a $75,000 salary requires $83,154 to retain equal purchasing power. Without matching raises, your real compensation experiences an effective reduction of $7,355 (-9.81%).
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How Minimum Wage Inflation Calculator Works?
The Minimum Wage Inflation Calculator works by restating each minimum wage with the price ratio between its year and the target year.
Pick a minimum wage
Choose a federal, state or national minimum wage and year.
Pick the target year
Choose the year to compare in.
Apply the index ratio
The calculator multiplies the wage by the index ratio.
Read the result
The output shows the wage in target-year dollars and the gap against the current minimum.
Minimum Wage Inflation Calculator Formula
The Minimum Wage Inflation formula multiplies the historical minimum wage by the target index divided by the historical index.
MWtarget $ = MWyear × (CPItarget ÷ CPIyear)
Variables
- MWyear
- Minimum wage in its own year
- CPIyear, CPItarget
- Annual-average index values
Worked example
The 1968 federal minimum wage of $1.60 equals $14.42 per hour in 2024 dollars. The $7.25 minimum wage from 2009 equals $10.60 in 2024 dollars.
Minimum Wage Inflation Calculator Conversion Table
This table restates 5 past U.S. federal minimum wages in 2024 dollars with CPI-U annual averages (2024 = 313.689).
| Year set | Federal minimum wage | CPI-U that year | Value in 2024 dollars | Yearly at 2,080 hours (2024 dollars) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | $1.60 | 34.8 | $14.42 | $29,999 |
| 1978 | $2.65 | 65.2 | $12.75 | $26,519 |
| 1991 | $4.25 | 136.2 | $9.79 | $20,360 |
| 1997 | $5.15 | 160.5 | $10.07 | $20,936 |
| 2009 | $7.25 | 214.5 | $10.60 | $22,049 |
Wage levels: U.S. Department of Labor. CPI-U: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each row uses the annual average of the year the rate took effect.
What is Minimum Wage Inflation Calculator?
The Minimum Wage Inflation Calculator is a tool that compares the purchasing power of minimum wages from different years. The U.S. federal minimum wage has stayed at $7.25 per hour since July 24, 2009.
The calculator shows the minimum wage of any year in today's dollars and the real loss of an unchanged minimum wage.
What are the uses of Minimum Wage Inflation Calculator?
There are 4 main uses of the Minimum Wage Inflation Calculator.
Inform policy debates
Show the real value of minimum wages across decades.
Compare state rates
Compare state minimum wages with the federal rate in real terms.
Teach labor economics
Show students how a fixed wage loses value.
Set entry-level pay
Employers set entry pay above the real value of past minimums.
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