Main Findings
-More than two-thirds of small business owners support increasing the federal minimum
wage, up from $7.25 an hour, and adjusting it yearly to reflect the cost of living:
A 67% majority of small business owners agree the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour
should increase, and that it should be adjusted annually to keep pace with the cost of living. Moreover,
almost four in 10 (36%) strongly agree.
-The vast majority of respondents pay all of their employees more than minimum wage:
A sweeping 85% of small business owners surveyed do not pay any of their employees the federal
minimum wage of $7.25.
-Two-thirds of entrepreneurs believe increasing minimum wage will boost consumer
demand for small businesses, helping them grow and hire:
A 65% majority agrees with this statement: “Increasing the minimum wage will help the economy
because the people with the lowest incomes are the most likely to spend any pay increases buying
necessities they could not afford before, which will boost sales at businesses. This will increase the
customer demand that businesses need to retain or hire more employees.” Moreover, one-third of
owners strongly agree with this statement.
-Two-thirds of small businesses agree increasing minimum wage would decrease the
pressure on taxpayer-financed government assistance to make up for low wages:
A 65% majority agrees that increasing the minimum wage would allow people to afford basic
necessities and decrease the pressure on taxpayer-financed government assistance to make up for the
low wages paid by some employers, and say it’s not right that people working full time earn just
$15,080 a year at the minimum wage—significantly lower than it was in the 1960s, adjusting for
inflation. A one-third minority says, on the other hand, that we cannot afford to increase the minimum
wage because it will increase labor costs and lead to lower profits, higher prices and job losses.
Full Poll Report:
http://www.smallbusinessmajority.org/small-business-research/downloads/042413-minimum-wage-poll-report.pdf
Hart Research Associates
January 2015: Support for a Federal Minimum Wage of $12.50 or Above
75 percent of Americans support raising the federal minimum wage to $12.50 by 2020, including
92 percent of Democrats
73 percent of Independents
53 percent of Republicans
63 percent of Americans support an even greater federal minimum wage increase to $15.00 by 2020
71 percent of Americans favor raising tipped workers' minimum wage to the overall minimum wage an even greater federal minimum wage increase to $15.00 by 2020
82 percent of Americans support automatic upward annual adjustments to the federal minimum wage
NELP Press Release on Hart Research poll: New Poll Shows Overwhelming support for Major Minimum Wage Increase
Pew Research
February 2013: Public Support for Raising the Federal Minimum Wage
71 percent of Americans support a federal minimum wage increase to $9.00 per hour, including
87 percent of Democrats
68 percent of Independents
50 percent of Republicans
Lake Research Partners
February 2012: Public Support for Raising the Minimum Wage - Full Report
73 percent of likely 2012 voters support raising the federal minimum wage to $10 per hour, including
91 percent of Democrats
74 percent of Independents
50 percent of Republicans
June 7, 2011 Memo: The Economics and Public Support of the Minimum Wage
New York Minimum Wage Poll
January 2013: New Yorkers Support Raising the State's Minimum Wage (Quinnipiac)
80 percent of voters in New York support raising the state's minimum wage to $8.75 per hour, including
95 percent of Democrats
77 percent of Independents
61 percent of Republicans
http://www.raisetheminimumwage.com/pages/polling
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/03/04/polls-show-strong-support-for-minimum-wage-hike/