How much did the average worker make in 1980?
Isabella Floyd
Published Jan 17, 2026
Indexing yearly income
| Year | Wage Index |
|---|---|
| 1980 | $12,513.46 |
| 1983 | $15,239.24 |
| 1986 | $17,321.82 |
| 1989 | $20,099.55 |
What was the hourly rate of the first minimum wage?
$0.25 per hour
Historical trend The federal minimum wage was introduced in 1938 at the rate of $0.25 per hour (equivalent to $4.6 in 2020).
What was the average hourly wage in 1987?
Average hourly pay and pay inequality, 1948–2011 (2011 dollars)
| Wages and salaries | Total compensation | |
|---|---|---|
| Real hourly pay (ECEC)** | ||
| 1987 | $21.08 | $26.38 |
| 1989 | 20.68 | 25.98 |
| 1995 | 20.23 | 25.41 |
What was the average salary in 1987?
AWI series and underlying data
| Year | AWI series a | SSA raw data |
|---|---|---|
| AWI | Prior year average amount | |
| 1985 | 16,822.51 | $15,250.75 |
| 1986 | 17,321.82 | 15,900.51 |
| 1987 | 18,426.51 | 16,372.45 |
What was the federal minimum wage in 1980?
Fewer Americans today make the federal minimum wage or less. In 1980, when the federal minimum wage was $3.10 ($9.86 in 2019 dollars), 13% of hourly workers earned the federal minimum wage or less. Today, only 1.9% of hourly workers do. The number of federal minimum wage workers has decreased from 7.7 million in 1980 to 1.6 million in 2019.
When did the minimum wage go up to$ 3 an hour?
The minimum went to $2.65 an hour in January 1978, $2.90 in January 1979, $3.10 in January 1980, and $3.35 in January 1981. The amendments eased the provisions for establishments permitted to employ students at the lower wage rate and allowed special waivers for children 10to11 years old to work in agriculture.
What was the minimum wage in 1961 and 1965?
The minimum for workers newly subject to the Act was set at $1.00 an hour effective September 1961, $1.15 an hour in September 1964, and $1.25 an hour in September 1965.
How many people work at the federal minimum wage?
Today, only 1.9% of hourly workers do. The number of federal minimum wage workers has decreased from 7.7 million in 1980 to 1.6 million in 2019. This is partly due to states establishing higher minimum wages than the federal level. The share of hourly workers at or below federal minimum wage peaked in the early 1980s.
