Evidence page
Minimum Wage Math
$15,080 a year at federal minimum wage
Updated with 2025 to 2026 national wage and housing data
Why this page matters
A full-time worker at $7.25 an hour earns only $15,080 before taxes. Recent housing-wage research shows many renters need far more than that to afford a modest home.
Key takeaways
- •The federal minimum wage remains $7.25 per hour, or about $15,080 annually at full-time hours.
- •Recent housing research from the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows renters often need more than $30 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom home.
- •That gap helps explain why working families can still face motel stays, eviction risk, and utility shutoffs.
Sources
These pages use the most recent national evidence currently wired into the site. As new data is added, the hub can be updated without changing the page structure.
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