• Issues
  • Equitable Work and Wages

    • Living in Poverty

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    Data source: American Community Survey, 2019-2023.
    Hover over a category to highlight it. Click on a category in the chart legend to eliminate it from view. Blank bars are not large enough to display values. Hover over these bars to view values.
    Data Source: American Community Survey, 2019-2023.
    Hover over a category to highlight it. Click on a category in the chart legend to eliminate it from view. Blank bars are not large enough to display values. Hover over these bars to view values.
    The working poor are defined as individuals who spend at least 27 weeks in a year working full-time and have incomes at or below the Federal Poverty Threshold. Data represent individuals aged 18 and above. Data source: American Community Survey, 2019-2023.
    Hover over a category to highlight it. Click on a category in the chart legend to eliminate it from view. Blank bars are not large enough to display values. Hover over these bars to view values.
    The working poor are individuals who spend at least 27 weeks in a year working full-time and have incomes at or below the Federal Poverty Threshold; we use 200% of the Federal Poverty Threshold here. Data represent individuals aged 18 and above. Data source: American Community Survey, 2019-2023.
    Hover over a category to highlight it. Click on a category in the chart legend to eliminate it from view. Blank bars are not large enough to display values. Hover over these bars to view values.

    Policy

    Updated January 26, 2026
    Salary transparency laws that require employers to disclose the compensation range for job postings can help close the gender wage gap.
    Salary history bans that prohibit employers from inquiring about an applicant's prior compensation or using it to justify a pay discrepancy can contribute to closing the gender and racial wage gaps.
    State minimum wage laws set the wage floor for the hourly rate that employers can compensate workers, and because women are overrepresented in low-wage jobs, they are more likely to live in poverty.
    Workplace antidiscrimination laws prohibit disparate treatment of workers on the basis of sex or gender, gender identity, race, religion, family or marital status, pregnancy status, disability, or other protected class.

    State policy or data requests?

    Stakeholders and partners can get support from IWPR’s experts on state-specific data and policy landscape insights. Submit a hotline request to get started.

    Hotline statepal@iwpr.org