Personal Finance

Mapped: Minimum Wage Around the World

Published

2 months ago

March 15, 2023

Marcus Lu

Graphics/Design:

Sam Parker

global minimum wage by country map

Mapped: Minimum Wage Around the World

The purpose of a minimum wage is to establish a baseline income level for workers in a given jurisdiction. Ideally it’s enough to cover basic needs like food and housing, but this isn’t always a guarantee.

To see how the minimum wage differs around the world, we’ve visualized data from Picodi, which includes values for 67 countries as of January 2023.

Monthly Minimum Wage, by Country

The following table includes all of the data used in this infographic.

Each value represents the monthly minimum wage a full-time worker would receive in each country. Picodi states that these figures are net of taxes and have been converted to USD.

Country	Increase compared to Jan 2022	Minimum wage as of Jan 2023 (full-time, USD)
Cyprus	104.5%	$854
Argentina	100.0%	$336
Turkey	32.5%	$457
Moldova	27.1%	$180
Latvia	25.8%	$555
Malaysia	24.6%	$289
Pakistan	24.5%	$111
Romania	21.9%	$393
Germany	21.2%	$1,594
Belarus	18.8%	$189
Lithuania	18.5%	$646
North Macedonia	17.4%	$298
Mexico	17.1%	$315
Chile	16.9%	$369
Russia	16.6%	$224
Kazakhstan	16.4%	$131
Colombia	16.0%	$249
Hungary	15.3%	$383
Netherlands	14.6%	$1,895
Poland	14.3%	$584
Belgium	14.3%	$1,509
Serbia	14.2%	$347
Estonia	14.2%	$704
Azerbaijan	13.3%	$186
Albania	12.9%	$265
Slovenia	12.6%	$896
US	12.0%	$1,550
Croatia	11.9%	$571
Uzbekistan	11.4%	$72
Paraguay	11.4%	$323
Armenia	10.3%	$138
Peru	10.0%	$233
Bosnia and Herzegovina	9.9%	$324
Bulgaria	9.3%	$315
Luxembourg	9.2%	$2,140
Philippines	9.0%	$141
Uruguay	8.9%	$424
Brazil	8.5%	$232
India	8.1%	$95
Indonesia	7.9%	$173
Greece	7.8%	$626
Portugal	7.3%	$690
UK	7.2%	$1,705
Slovakia	6.9%	$572
South Africa	6.6%	$226
France	6.6%	$1,380
Czechia	6.0%	$643
Vietnam	5.7%	$162
Ecuador	5.6%	$407
New Zealand	5.4%	$1,866
Ireland	5.1%	$1,753
Canada	5.0%	$1,545
Thailand	4.8%	$195
Australia	4.7%	$2,022
South Korea	4.6%	$1,333
Taiwan	4.0%	$800
Bolivia	3.9%	$284
Guatemala	3.6%	$383
Malta	3.1%	$788
Ukraine	0.0%	$146
Israel	0.0%	$1,389
Puerto Rico	0.0%	$1,328
Hong Kong	0.0%	$959
Saudi Arabia	0.0%	$958
Spain	0.0%	$925
Montenegro	0.0%	$459
Nigeria	0.0%	$68

Generally speaking, developed countries have a higher cost of living, and thus require a higher minimum wage.

Two outliers in this dataset are Argentina and Turkey, which have increased their minimum wages by 100% or more from January 2022 levels.

Turkey is suffering from an ongoing currency crisis, with the lira losing over 40% of its value in 2021. Prices of basic goods have increased considerably as the Turkish lira continues to plummet. In fact, a 2022 survey found that 70% of people in Turkey were struggling to pay for food.

Argentina, South America’s second-biggest economy, is also suffering from very high inflation. In response, the country announced three minimum wage increases throughout 2022.

Minimum Wage in the U.S.

Within the U.S., minimum wage varies significantly by state. We’ve visualized each state’s basic minimum rate (hourly) using January 2023 data from the U.S. Department of Labor.

US minimum wage

2023-03-17 Update: This map was updated to fix several incorrect values. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

America’s federal minimum wage has remained unchanged since 2009 at $7.25 per hour.

Each state is allowed to set their own minimum wage, as long as it’s higher than the federal minimum. In states that do not set their own minimum, the federal minimum applies.

If we assume someone works 40 hours a week, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 translates to an annual figure of just $15,080 before taxes. California’s minimum wage of $15.50 translates to $32,240 before taxes.

For further perspective, check out our 2022 infographic on the salary needed to buy a home across 50 U.S. cities.

Related Topics:minimum wage salaries money wealth gap wealth personal wealth maps inequality economics

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Ranked: The Best U.S. States for Retirement

Getting ready for retirement? See which states score the highest in terms of affordability, quality of life, and health care.

Published

4 weeks ago

May 1, 2023

Marcus Lu

Ranked: The Best U.S. States for Retirement

What is the most important aspect of retirement planning?

If you said finances, you’re probably right. But have you ever thought about where the best place is to retire? Being strategic about location can make a big impact on your quality of life, and perhaps help your savings go just a bit further.

To help break it down, we’ve visualized data from personal finance platform, WalletHub, which ranked the best U.S. states for retirement as of 2023.

Data and Methodology

WalletHub ranked each state using 47 metrics across three dimensions.

Affordability (7 metrics worth 40 points)
Quality of Life (22 metrics worth 30 points)
Health Care (18 metrics worth 30 points)

Here are some examples of what each dimension measures:

Affordability: Cost of living and taxation
Quality of Life: Quality of elder-abuse protections and crime rates
Health Care: Number of health professionals per capita and life expectancy

Visit the source for the full list of metrics.

The final scores (visualized as the bars in the infographic above) represent each state’s weighted average across all metrics. See below for more comprehensive results.

Rank	State	Score	Affordability (rank)	Quality of Life (rank)	Health Care (rank)
1	Virginia	57.6	16	11	11
2T	Florida	57.4	9	4	28
2T	Colorado	57.4	14	27	5
4	Wyoming	55.6	5	9	38
5	Delaware	55.5	6	33	18
6	New Hampshire	55.0	31	5	7
7	South Dakota	53.6	25	30	9
8	Minnesota	53.5	40	2	1
9	Idaho	53.2	15	17	31
10	North Dakota	53.0	22	25	20
11	Utah	52.7	20	24	26
12	North Carolina	52.6	12	23	35
13	Missouri	52.4	17	28	32
14	Pennsylvania	52.3	36	3	12
15T	Montana	52.1	24	15	29
15T	South Carolina	52.1	4	38	39
17	Massachusetts	51.9	47	1	2
18	California	51.6	32	19	10
19	Alaska	51.3	26	36	8
20	Arizona	51.1	18	35	25
21	Wisconsin	50.9	34	14	17
22	Alabama	50.7	1	44	50
23	Ohio	49.8	27	8	37
24	Hawaii	49.7	38	29	4
25	Nebraska	49.3	37	16	15
26	Iowa	48.9	35	12	24
27	Georgia	48.6	7	40	42
28	Michigan	48.0	29	18	36
29T	Maine	47.5	43	6	13
29T	New Mexico	47.5	21	46	30
31	Indiana	47.3	23	31	40
32T	Nevada	47.2	11	42	41
32T	Tennessee	47.2	2	48	45
34T	Vermont	47.1	48	7	6
34T	Connecticut	47.1	44	26	3
36	Kansas	46.8	30	32	33
37	West Virginia	46.4	3	43	49
38	Oregon	46.1	41	21	21
39	Texas	45.9	28	37	34
40	Rhode Island	45.0	39	39	14
41	Arkansas	44.7	8	49	44
42	Maryland	44.6	46	20	19
43	Washington	44.5	45	13	23
44	Illinois	44.3	42	22	27
45	Louisiana	43.9	13	45	47
46	New York	43.7	50	10	16
47	Oklahoma	43.6	19	47	43
48	Mississippi	40.8	10	50	48
49	New Jersey	40.2	49	34	22
50	Kentucky	38.8	33	41	46

According to this methodology, Virginia is currently the best state for retirement. Although the Southeastern state does not excel in any one dimension, it scores consistently well across all three to create a very balanced retirement profile.

This gives it a slight advantage over second place Florida, which excels in quality of life and affordability, but falls further behind in terms of health care. Third-placed Colorado is a mirror of Florida, offering excellent health care but a lower quality of life in comparison.

How to Interpret These Results

It’s important to remember that this ranking is purely based on data and the methodology above, and may not be tailored to your individual preferences.

For example, if you believe that health services will be very important during retirement, you may rank Minnesota (#1 in terms of health care) much higher than eighth place.

You may notice that prioritizing one dimension will often come at a trade-off in others. Looking at Minnesota once more, we can see that the state is also one of America’s most expensive.

Looking to retire outside of the U.S.? Check out this graphic on the top 25 countries to retire in.