Many states require higher direct wage amounts for tipped employees than the federal requirement

Tipped workers in ‘$2.13 states’ experience an estimated 18.5% poverty rates

In so-called “equal treatment states,” where tipped workers are subject to the normal federal minimum wage or higher rather than the tipped minimum wage, the poverty rate is 11.1%.

US tipped employees receive the 'subminimum wage' of $2.13, unchanged since 1991

Tipped employees (anyone who makes $30+ per month in tips) are not federally entitled to a traditional minimum wage. Customers determine their earnings. The National Restaurant Association believes that if restaurant owners are forced to pay above the subminimum wage for tipped workers, restaurants could be forced to close.

The Fair Labor Standards Act established a minimum wage—but it didn't cover everyone

A 1966 amendment created the “tip credit,” which allowed restaurants to pay below minimum wage if tips compensated the difference. However, this federal tipped minimum wage has remained frozen at $2.13 per hour since 1991, whereas the regular minimum wage has increased multiple times since then.

When a state’s minimum wage differs from the federal's, the higher number wins out

Being that the federal government hasn’t raised the minimum wage in over 15 years, some states have taken matters in their own hands.

Minimum wage laws are a relatively new phenomenon in the US

Today, the federal minimum wage in the US is $7.25 per hour. But the country wasn’t founded with minimum wage laws in its DNA. The first federal minimum wage wasn’t set until 1938, when it was 25 cents per hour.

After emancipation, many slaves went from working for free to working for tips

In 1938, the New Deal established a minimum wage for one-fifth of the labor force, with many sectors—including service workers—not covered. Today, although the subminimum wage of $2.13 an hour is enforced, a large portion of those paychecks go to taxes like Social Security and Medicare.

Living wage calculator

Some people who work low-wage jobs don't make enough money to pay for the cost of basic needs (like housing or child care) in their area of the country. Curious to see whether or not you make what's considered a "living wage" for your city or state? To find out, plug your locale into this Living Wage Calculator.

In the Netherlands, the minimum wage amounts to a full-time salary of roughly $34,192 per year

The US minimum wage, however, only amounts to roughly $15K per year. This map shows how much minimum wage workers in countries around the world earn on an annual basis in US dollars.

The average salary for full-time gig workers is roughly $60K a year in the US

High-earners can make more than six figures, while close to 15% make less than the federal minimum hour wage. Most gig workers in the United States still have to file a tax return every year.

See the average income in every US state

DC residents make an average of $108K a year, but residents of nearby state West Virginia earn the country's lowest average annual income of just $55K.

Women tend to tip more often than men

For instance, among people who visit hair salons or barber shops, 62% of female respondents said they always tipped. Only 45% of men said the same. This article includes more takeaways and stats about how Americans tip, and who receives them.

Does minimum wage hurt workers?

Many economists traditionally believed raising the minimum wage hurt workers more than helped them. They argued that doing so would lead to job losses believing that if something is more expensive (like labor), people (like business owners) would want to buy less of it. However, recent research suggests otherwise.

The impact of knowing your coworker’s salary

In 2025, five more states enacted pay transparency laws, requiring employers to disclose salaries in job postings. The goal? Reduce wage gaps and promote fairness. But despite these laws, 42% of job listings still hide pay details.

27 states have right-to-work laws

That means employees in those states can choose whether or not to join a union at their workplace. Right-to-work laws also make it optional for employees in unionized workplaces to pay fees associated with union membership.

Police officer salaries vary dramatically depending on where officers serve

Officer pay varies significantly across states and cities, with the highest salaries in California, New Jersey, and Washington. Factors such as local funding, cost of living, and collective bargaining agreements influence compensation.

More than 15 states have estate or inheritance taxes—but Maryland is the only state with both

Eighteen states, and Washington, DC, have estate or inheritance taxes in place. Tax rates and thresholds vary per state, but most are less than the federal estate tax rate and threshold. This means an estate doesn't have to be as lucrative to be subjected to the taxes.

Social Security trust funds are expected to be unable to pay full benefits by 2035

Most US workers have 6.2% of their gross paycheck taken out for Social Security. The government requires employers to match that 6.2% as well, for a total of 12.4%. This video dives into the specifics of how Social Security functions from a financial perspective.

Juror pay varies widely by state, and most employers are not required to cover it

State court juror pay ranges from nothing in Illinois and South Carolina to $50 per day in six states, with a national average of around $22 per day. Only eight states and DC require employers to provide paid time off during jury service.

US teachers' earnings have declined since 2010

Although teachers are among the nation’s most educated workers, they earn far less on average than most other highly educated workers. More than 95% of elementary, middle and high school teachers have a bachelor’s degree or more. In 2019, the average earnings of elementary and middle school teachers with a bachelor’s degree or more who work full-time, year-round was $53,800. For high school teachers, it was $57,840.

Before the 16th Amendment, US tax law required direct taxes to be directly apportioned to a state's population

Due to these requirements, the federal government could not impose many direct taxes. Direct taxes include property and income taxes, whereas indirect taxes include duties and excises.

The most common job in each US state in 2024

In 15 states, the most common job by number of employees is "fast food worker." Other most common jobs include cashiers and nurses.

Newspaper delivery people, trash collectors, and more: who to tip and how much

The suggested holiday tip amount for garage attendants is between $10 and $50, whereas the suggested holiday tip amount for doormen in apartment buildings is between $25 and $100 each.

State governments have public pensions for their employees

In many US states, these pensions are set aside for teachers, firefighters, and/or other state government workers. However, many of these pensions are currently underfunded. This map provides a visual representation of how strong each US states’ public pensions are.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

Run your numbers in this marriage tax calculator

When it comes to federal income taxes, not every couple benefits from getting married. This calculator lets you see how much two specific people might pay if they were to get married based on their individual income levels and more. Specifically, the calculator compares the taxes a married couple would pay if they filed a joint return with what they would pay if they were unmarried and each filed as single.

How much do you pay in gas taxes?

The average national price jumped from $3.02 to $4.12 per gallon between March and April in 2026, but state prices range widely, from $3.66 in Texas to $5.79 in California, driven by differences in taxes, proximity to supply, and local competition.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

Watch the cumbersome, but necessary, precautions healthcare workers must take to care for and protect themselves while caring for Ebola patients.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'