Fewer American workers are earning a living wage, according to a new study

Fewer and fewer working Americans are earning a living wage.

A fresh report from Dayforce and the Living Wage Institute found that just over half of full-time workers earn enough to provide for themselves and their families. That’s down five percentage points compared to four years ago.

What counts as a living wage depends on how much stuff costs. And right now?

“The cost of housing, food, child care and other essentials are elevated. Energy prices have recently spiked, of course,” said Jason Rahlan, global head of sustainability and impact at Dayforce.

He said wages have been going up, just not as fast as costs.

“Job growth has recently slowed, and millions of workers haven't seen a meaningful improvement in their financial situation,” Rahlan said.

The report shows familiar demographic gaps: Women are less likely to earn a living wage than men, hourly workers less likely than salaried workers, Black and Latino workers less likely than white and Asian workers.

All of those gaps got wider in 2025.

“Certain workers are always more vulnerable when the economy drops in any kind of way,” said Saba Waheed, director of the University of California, Los Angeles’ Labor Center. “When there's an unemployment bump, you often see Black workers to experience it harder, first, and so on.”

Waheed said one way to alleviate wage gaps is to elevate the lowest wages. The federal minimum wage, she pointed out, hasn’t increased since 2009.