John Schmitt, Janelle Jones, Center for Economic and Policy Research, August 2013

In recent weeks, fast-food workers have gone on strike in seven U.S. cities. Their demand for a $15 per hour minimum wage in their industry–about $30,000 per year for a full-time worker, typically with no benefits – has underscored just how low the $7.25 federal minimum wage is relative to what workers need to get by.

One argument frequently made against higher wages for fast-food workers is that the industry is dominated by teenagers and workers with less than a high school degree, who somehow “deserve” the low wages they receive.

An analysis of government data on fast-food workers, however, tells a different story. First of all, only about 30 percent of fast-food workers are teenagers. Another 30 percent are between the ages of 20 and 24. The remaining 40 percent are 25 and older. (All the data we present here are from the government’s Current Population Survey, where we have combined data for the years 2010 through 2012 in order to provide a large enough sample for analysis.) Half of fast food workers are 23 or older. Many teenagers do work in fast-food, but the majority of fast-food workers are not teenagers.

Download Slow Progress for Fast-Food Workers