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The Federal Minimum Wage Has Been Frozen at $7.25 for 15 Years — Can Anyone Actually Survive on It?

MarketDash Editorial Team
7 hours ago
The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 per hour since 2009, leaving full-time workers with just over $15,000 annually. Americans across the country are sharing their struggles and debating whether it's even possible to survive on this income anywhere in the nation.

Here's a sobering number: $7.25 per hour. That's what the federal minimum wage has been since 2009. Fifteen years without a single increase. Do the math on a full-time schedule and you're looking at just over $15,000 a year before taxes.

So naturally, people on Reddit started asking the obvious question: Is there anywhere in America where you can actually survive on this? The responses painted a pretty grim picture of minimum wage life in modern America.

The Bottom Line: Not Without Help

The overwhelming consensus was blunt. Without government assistance or help from family, $15,000 a year simply doesn't cut it. One commenter captured the frustration perfectly: "If your business model includes absolutely shafting most of your workforce, then your business model deserves to not exist."

Another person laid out the reality in stark terms: "That amount of money is enough to stave off starvation and nothing else. Full stop. Health problems? Good luck. Shelter? Haha."

A few people described scenarios where they technically survived on similar wages, but the word "barely" came up a lot. "I made that wage 8 years ago and rented a small house for $450 a month," one person shared. "I barely scraped by and usually had to borrow money from friends and family when emergencies happened."

Even alternative living arrangements like van life, often touted as budget-friendly, were described as a constant struggle on minimum wage.

The Housing Math Doesn't Work

Rent became the central sticking point in most discussions. Using the standard guideline that housing should consume about 30% of income, one person did the quick math: "30 percent is $380 a month rent." Good luck finding that anywhere.

Another commenter noted that such rent existed maybe 12 years ago "in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania," and even back then it was considered remarkably cheap.

Sure, some places still have rentals under $500. Towns like Gormania, West Virginia, got mentioned. But as one person pointed out, "You just have to find a place so destitute that ONLY minimum wage workers are renting."

Even people making notably more than minimum wage reported struggling. "I make $9, only 20 hours a week. I'm surviving, but it's not fun and I utilize every resource in my area," one commenter admitted.

The Larger Picture

Many responses shifted from personal stories to broader economic critiques. "Returns to investments are almost always greater than returns from labor," one person wrote, touching on fundamental wealth inequality issues.

Another commenter connected the dots to corporate valuations: "That value in the stock for Amazon, Tesla, or Google? It didn't come from nowhere. It came from the efforts of workers. Workers stop working? That stock value plummets."

Several people highlighted how difficult it is to escape poverty wages, even while working multiple jobs. "It's enough if you work two 40-hour-per-week jobs and live in an RV parked in your parents' driveway. And don't have kids. And don't have medical issues. And don't worry about saving for emergencies."

Here's an important context point: While only about 1% of U.S. workers technically earn the federal minimum wage, many others earn wages barely above it at $8, $9, or $10 per hour. In states that follow the federal minimum, these low wages remain common.

Not everyone agreed it was impossible to find better opportunities. "If you're making minimum wage today, it's because you want to for some reason," claimed one person from rural Alabama. "My 16-year-old just got her first job at a movie theater chain making $13/hr. If you can't find a job that pays better than what a 16 [year-old] makes in rural Alabama, that's on you."

But even people who previously managed on low wages say the landscape has shifted dramatically. "I lived fine on my own with kids in 2021/2022 making $30K and was even saving money," said a commenter from southeast Kentucky. Now they're "really struggling to keep things together on $50K annually."

A handful of commenters suggested potential workarounds: living with parents, sharing a room with multiple roommates, going off-grid, or moving to extremely rural areas. But even with these creative solutions, the overall verdict remained decidedly bleak. Surviving on $7.25 an hour in 2024 America? It's not just difficult—it's essentially impossible without significant external support.

Back to News

The Federal Minimum Wage Has Been Frozen at $7.25 for 15 Years — Can Anyone Actually Survive on It?

MarketDash Editorial Team
7 hours ago
The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 per hour since 2009, leaving full-time workers with just over $15,000 annually. Americans across the country are sharing their struggles and debating whether it's even possible to survive on this income anywhere in the nation.

Here's a sobering number: $7.25 per hour. That's what the federal minimum wage has been since 2009. Fifteen years without a single increase. Do the math on a full-time schedule and you're looking at just over $15,000 a year before taxes.

So naturally, people on Reddit started asking the obvious question: Is there anywhere in America where you can actually survive on this? The responses painted a pretty grim picture of minimum wage life in modern America.

The Bottom Line: Not Without Help

The overwhelming consensus was blunt. Without government assistance or help from family, $15,000 a year simply doesn't cut it. One commenter captured the frustration perfectly: "If your business model includes absolutely shafting most of your workforce, then your business model deserves to not exist."

Another person laid out the reality in stark terms: "That amount of money is enough to stave off starvation and nothing else. Full stop. Health problems? Good luck. Shelter? Haha."

A few people described scenarios where they technically survived on similar wages, but the word "barely" came up a lot. "I made that wage 8 years ago and rented a small house for $450 a month," one person shared. "I barely scraped by and usually had to borrow money from friends and family when emergencies happened."

Even alternative living arrangements like van life, often touted as budget-friendly, were described as a constant struggle on minimum wage.

The Housing Math Doesn't Work

Rent became the central sticking point in most discussions. Using the standard guideline that housing should consume about 30% of income, one person did the quick math: "30 percent is $380 a month rent." Good luck finding that anywhere.

Another commenter noted that such rent existed maybe 12 years ago "in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania," and even back then it was considered remarkably cheap.

Sure, some places still have rentals under $500. Towns like Gormania, West Virginia, got mentioned. But as one person pointed out, "You just have to find a place so destitute that ONLY minimum wage workers are renting."

Even people making notably more than minimum wage reported struggling. "I make $9, only 20 hours a week. I'm surviving, but it's not fun and I utilize every resource in my area," one commenter admitted.

The Larger Picture

Many responses shifted from personal stories to broader economic critiques. "Returns to investments are almost always greater than returns from labor," one person wrote, touching on fundamental wealth inequality issues.

Another commenter connected the dots to corporate valuations: "That value in the stock for Amazon, Tesla, or Google? It didn't come from nowhere. It came from the efforts of workers. Workers stop working? That stock value plummets."

Several people highlighted how difficult it is to escape poverty wages, even while working multiple jobs. "It's enough if you work two 40-hour-per-week jobs and live in an RV parked in your parents' driveway. And don't have kids. And don't have medical issues. And don't worry about saving for emergencies."

Here's an important context point: While only about 1% of U.S. workers technically earn the federal minimum wage, many others earn wages barely above it at $8, $9, or $10 per hour. In states that follow the federal minimum, these low wages remain common.

Not everyone agreed it was impossible to find better opportunities. "If you're making minimum wage today, it's because you want to for some reason," claimed one person from rural Alabama. "My 16-year-old just got her first job at a movie theater chain making $13/hr. If you can't find a job that pays better than what a 16 [year-old] makes in rural Alabama, that's on you."

But even people who previously managed on low wages say the landscape has shifted dramatically. "I lived fine on my own with kids in 2021/2022 making $30K and was even saving money," said a commenter from southeast Kentucky. Now they're "really struggling to keep things together on $50K annually."

A handful of commenters suggested potential workarounds: living with parents, sharing a room with multiple roommates, going off-grid, or moving to extremely rural areas. But even with these creative solutions, the overall verdict remained decidedly bleak. Surviving on $7.25 an hour in 2024 America? It's not just difficult—it's essentially impossible without significant external support.