The Raise the Wage Act would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025, and this data brief estimates the public cost to Georgia and the federal government from the use of safety net programs by low-wage working families who would be directly affected by the increase. The analysis focuses on families of year-round workers who would receive a direct pay increase, and finds that just over half of these families are enrolled in at least one safety net program, at an annual cost of $4.7 billion. In addition to improving the lives of Georgia minimum wage workers and their families, passage of the Raise the Wage Act would reduce the burden placed on federal and Georgia-funded public safety net programs.
