SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Many Peach State residents know all too well, working for minimum wage in Georgia is not enough to pay for housing, utilities, groceries and gas. Here is why that is by the numbers.
The “living wage gap” is the amount of money between what someone actually makes and how much it takes to live comfortably.
In Georgia, the hourly minimum wage is $5.15 mandated by state law. According to data from Statista, the living wage gap comes to $10.47 which is the highest wage gap in the U.S.
If you were making minimum wage in Georgia, according to the federal minimum of $7.25, adjusted for inflation, and filling the living wage gap, workers should make $17.72 an hour minimum to live comfortably in the state.
The living wage gap was calculated by factoring in living wage, average housing prices, childcare and healthcare costs.
This gap has continued to open as employee wages were not adjusted to high inflation rates in 2022 and 2023.
We are all feeling this gap but for women, this gap is wider, with Georgia women losing a combined total of $14 billion a year , and having less money to support their families and invest for the future.