The Federal Minimum Wage in Ounces of Silver, 1939–2025
Topic: Economy & Work
In this chart: Federal minimum wage, Silver price
About this chart
The line is one hour of work at the federal minimum wage, priced in silver: the hourly rate divided by that year's average price of an ounce of silver. The coin beside the line's end is the price of an ounce; its area is proportional to the price, so a coin with twice the area is twice the price. The readout gives the year, the minimum wage, the silver price and the ounces an hour of work buys; three notes mark the lowest year, the highest and the latest. Point at any year, or tap it, to read its numbers. The animation runs the record over forty-one seconds, holds on the latest year for three seconds, and loops. The scrubber under the chart marks the years and pauses on any year, and the coin scaling and the speed can be changed in the controls.
Method
One hour at the federal minimum wage, divided by the average price of an ounce of silver that year, for every year from 1939 to 2025. The wage is the federal minimum for covered nonfarm workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as published by the US Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division ("History of Federal Minimum Wage Rates Under the FLSA"), at the rate in effect on 1 July of each year. The first rate, 25 cents, took effect in October 1938, so the series starts in 1939. This is the federal minimum only; many states and cities set a higher one.
Silver is the US Geological Survey's annual average price. Through 1989 it is the unit value in Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities in the United States (Data Series 140), converted from dollars per metric ton at 32,150.7466 troy ounces to the ton. From 1990 it is the average price in the Minerals Yearbook (1990), the Mineral Commodity Summaries (1991–2024) and the Mineral Industry Surveys (2025). The price is Handy & Harman's quotation through 2010 and Engelhard's from 2011. Ounces per hour are the wage divided by the price. Three notes mark moments found in the data: the lowest year (1980), the highest (2001), and the latest year, the lowest since 1980 (2025). The series ends at the latest complete year.
Data sources
- US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division — History of Federal Minimum Wage Rates Under the FLSA
- USGS — Silver Statistics, Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities (Data Series 140)
- USGS — Silver, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026
- USGS — Silver, Minerals Yearbook 1994
- USGS — Silver, Mineral Industry Surveys, December 2025
Data table
Every year from 1939 to 2025: the federal minimum wage in effect on 1 July, the US Geological Survey's average price of an ounce of silver, and the ounces of silver an hour at the minimum wage buys. Compiled by DataSlapper from the US Department of Labor and the US Geological Survey.
Show all 87 rows
| Year | Minimum wage | Silver price | An hour of work buys | Silver price source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | $0.25 | $0.39 | 0.64 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1940 | $0.30 | $0.35 | 0.85 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1941 | $0.30 | $0.35 | 0.85 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1942 | $0.30 | $0.38 | 0.79 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1943 | $0.30 | $0.45 | 0.67 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1944 | $0.30 | $0.45 | 0.67 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1945 | $0.30 | $0.52 | 0.58 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1946 | $0.40 | $0.80 | 0.50 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1947 | $0.40 | $0.72 | 0.56 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1948 | $0.40 | $0.74 | 0.54 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1949 | $0.40 | $0.72 | 0.56 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1950 | $0.75 | $0.74 | 1.01 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1951 | $0.75 | $0.89 | 0.84 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1952 | $0.75 | $0.85 | 0.88 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1953 | $0.75 | $0.85 | 0.88 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1954 | $0.75 | $0.85 | 0.88 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1955 | $0.75 | $0.89 | 0.84 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1956 | $1.00 | $0.91 | 1.10 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1957 | $1.00 | $0.91 | 1.10 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1958 | $1.00 | $0.89 | 1.12 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1959 | $1.00 | $0.91 | 1.10 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1960 | $1.00 | $0.91 | 1.10 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1961 | $1.00 | $0.92 | 1.09 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1962 | $1.15 | $1.09 | 1.06 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1963 | $1.15 | $1.28 | 0.90 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1964 | $1.25 | $1.29 | 0.97 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1965 | $1.25 | $1.29 | 0.97 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1966 | $1.25 | $1.29 | 0.97 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1967 | $1.40 | $1.55 | 0.90 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1968 | $1.60 | $2.14 | 0.75 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1969 | $1.60 | $1.79 | 0.89 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1970 | $1.60 | $1.77 | 0.90 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1971 | $1.60 | $1.55 | 1.03 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1972 | $1.60 | $1.68 | 0.95 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1973 | $1.60 | $2.56 | 0.62 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1974 | $2.00 | $4.71 | 0.42 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1975 | $2.10 | $4.42 | 0.48 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1976 | $2.30 | $4.35 | 0.53 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1977 | $2.30 | $4.62 | 0.50 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1978 | $2.65 | $5.40 | 0.49 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1979 | $2.90 | $11.09 | 0.26 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1980 | $3.10 | $20.63 | 0.15 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1981 | $3.35 | $10.52 | 0.32 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1982 | $3.35 | $7.95 | 0.42 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1983 | $3.35 | $11.44 | 0.29 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1984 | $3.35 | $8.14 | 0.41 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1985 | $3.35 | $6.14 | 0.55 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1986 | $3.35 | $5.47 | 0.61 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1987 | $3.35 | $7.01 | 0.48 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1988 | $3.35 | $6.53 | 0.51 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1989 | $3.35 | $5.50 | 0.61 oz | USGS DS140 2021 unit value |
| 1990 | $3.80 | $4.82 | 0.79 oz | USGS MYB 1994 |
| 1991 | $4.25 | $4.04 | 1.05 oz | USGS MCS 1996 |
| 1992 | $4.25 | $3.94 | 1.08 oz | USGS MCS 1996 |
| 1993 | $4.25 | $4.30 | 0.99 oz | USGS MCS 1996 |
| 1994 | $4.25 | $5.29 | 0.80 oz | USGS MCS 1996 |
| 1995 | $4.25 | $5.15 | 0.83 oz | USGS MCS 2000 |
| 1996 | $4.25 | $5.19 | 0.82 oz | USGS MCS 2000 |
| 1997 | $4.75 | $4.89 | 0.97 oz | USGS MCS 2000 |
| 1998 | $5.15 | $5.54 | 0.93 oz | USGS MCS 2000 |
| 1999 | $5.15 | $5.25 | 0.98 oz | USGS MCS 2004 |
| 2000 | $5.15 | $5.00 | 1.03 oz | USGS MCS 2004 |
| 2001 | $5.15 | $4.39 | 1.17 oz | USGS MCS 2004 |
| 2002 | $5.15 | $4.62 | 1.11 oz | USGS MCS 2007 |
| 2003 | $5.15 | $4.91 | 1.05 oz | USGS MCS 2007 |
| 2004 | $5.15 | $6.69 | 0.77 oz | USGS MCS 2007 |
| 2005 | $5.15 | $7.34 | 0.70 oz | USGS MCS 2007 |
| 2006 | $5.15 | $11.61 | 0.44 oz | USGS MCS 2011 |
| 2007 | $5.15 | $13.41 | 0.38 oz | USGS MCS 2012 |
| 2008 | $5.85 | $15.00 | 0.39 oz | USGS MCS 2012 |
| 2009 | $6.55 | $14.69 | 0.45 oz | USGS MCS 2012 |
| 2010 | $7.25 | $20.20 | 0.36 oz | USGS MCS 2012 |
| 2011 | $7.25 | $35.28 | 0.21 oz | USGS MCS 2016 |
| 2012 | $7.25 | $31.22 | 0.23 oz | USGS MCS 2016 |
| 2013 | $7.25 | $23.87 | 0.30 oz | USGS MCS 2016 |
| 2014 | $7.25 | $19.37 | 0.37 oz | USGS MCS 2016 |
| 2015 | $7.25 | $15.72 | 0.46 oz | USGS MCS 2020 |
| 2016 | $7.25 | $17.20 | 0.42 oz | USGS MCS 2020 |
| 2017 | $7.25 | $17.07 | 0.42 oz | USGS MCS 2020 |
| 2018 | $7.25 | $15.75 | 0.46 oz | USGS MCS 2020 |
| 2019 | $7.25 | $16.24 | 0.45 oz | USGS MCS 2024 |
| 2020 | $7.25 | $20.58 | 0.35 oz | USGS MCS 2025 |
| 2021 | $7.25 | $25.23 | 0.29 oz | USGS MCS 2026 |
| 2022 | $7.25 | $21.88 | 0.33 oz | USGS MCS 2026 |
| 2023 | $7.25 | $23.54 | 0.31 oz | USGS MCS 2026 |
| 2024 | $7.25 | $28.37 | 0.26 oz | USGS MCS 2026 |
| 2025 | $7.25 | $40.08 | 0.18 oz | USGS MIS Dec 2025 |
Updated 2025
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