HOURLY WAGE INDEX

Let’s talk wages in Houston

Back to home
Back to Texas
scale-img
$7.25

What is the minimum wage in Houston?

Houston is a large city in the state of Texas with a population of over 2.3 million people. The city has a diverse economy, with a strong focus on energy, healthcare, and manufacturing.

The minimum wage in Houston is currently $7.25 per hour. This is the same as the federal minimum wage.

The city of Houston is committed to raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. This will help to ensure that all workers in Houston can earn a living wage.

Increased spending: When low-wage workers earn more money, they spend more money. This can boost the economy by increasing demand for goods and services.

Reduced poverty: The minimum wage can help to reduce poverty by lifting low-wage workers out of poverty.

Increased economic security: The minimum wage can help to increase economic security for low-wage workers by giving them a safety net in case of unexpected expenses.

Negative Impacts

Job losses: Some businesses may lay off workers in response to an increase in the minimum wage. This is because the higher wage will increase their costs, which may make it difficult for them to stay in business.

Reduced hours: Some businesses may reduce the hours of their workers in response to an increase in the minimum wage. This is because they may not be able to afford to pay their workers the higher wage for the same number of hours.

Increased prices: Some businesses may raise their prices in response to an increase in the minimum wage. This is because they may need to pass on the higher costs to their customers.

Overall Impact

The overall impact of the minimum wage on the Houston economy is mixed. There are both positive and negative impacts. The positive impacts include increased spending, reduced poverty, and increased economic security. The negative impacts include job losses, reduced hours, and increased prices.

The net impact of the minimum wage on the Houston economy is difficult to predict. It will depend on a number of factors, including the size of the increase in the minimum wage, the response of businesses, and the overall state of the economy.

Conclusion

The minimum wage is an important issue in Houston. The city is committed to raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. This will help to ensure that all workers in Houston can earn a living wage. However, there are also some potential negative impacts of raising the minimum wage, such as job losses and reduced hours. The net impact of raising the minimum wage on the Houston economy is difficult to predict.

statistics-img
$48

What is the average wage in Houston?

The average wage in Houston is also high. The median household income in Houston is $100,000 per year. This means that half of all households in Houston earn more than $100,000 per year, and half earn less.

The high average wage in Houston is due to the fact that the city is home to a number of high-paying jobs in the energy, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors. However, there are also a number of low-paying jobs in the city, such as retail and food service.

The high cost of living in Houston can make it difficult for low-wage workers to make ends meet. However, the city's commitment to raising the minimum wage is a step in the right direction.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between gross wages and net wages?

It's important to remember that the Hourly Wage Index data above reflects gross wages, or the amount of money an employee earns before accounting for payroll deductions like taxes, benefits, or wage garnishments. Due to variability in tax rates across locations, slightly lower gross wages in a certain location might result in higher take home pay, or vice versa.

What is a good hourly wage?

This question is a difficult one to answer, as a "good hourly wage" is highly subjective according to experience, work responsibilities, cost of living, and other factors. We recommend using Hourly Wage Index data as a starting point. Once you have established a baseline for certain positions, do further research into similar businesses in your area. Lastly, consider surveying your employees. They're the best resource to help you know what is a good hourly wage, what competitive pay looks like in your location, and how competitive wages change in your industry over time.

Offering competitive pay is one of my top priorities—what other resources do you have that might help?

We know that getting applicants to pay attention to your business can be extremely challenging, and that offering competitive pay is a huge part of that. Wages aren’t everything, however! Applicant experience is another important factor that can help set you apart from your competition. A few examples include:


  • Short, easy to understand job descriptions
  • Mobile-friendliness
  • Quick communication
  • Streamlined interview stages
Resources

Become a hiring and onboarding expert.

blog_3
GUIDE

Checking the box on hiring and retention

Download the packet
blog_2
BLOG

5 Steps to build your convenience store brand

Read now
blog_1
BLOG

Social media recruiting: Why your employees should help

Read now

We're here to help!

A Workstream hiring specialist can help you identify high impact ways to improve your applicant experience, and even help you determine what is a good hourly wage for your location and business.

Sign up for a free 30 minute chat with a hiring specialist now

Personal Information and Sensitive Personal Information

Before we discuss the right to limit and the right to opt-out, we must first define personal information and how it relates to sensitive personal information.

Personal information is any data that identifies, relates to, or could reasonably be linked to you or your household. A few examples of personal information include:

  • Name or nickname
  • Email address
  • Purchase history
  • Browsing history
  • Location data
  • Employment data
  • IP address
  • Profiles businesses create about you, including pseudonymous profiles (“user1234”)
  • Sensitive personal information

Sensitive personal information or “SPI” is a subset of personal information, defined as:

  • Identifying information (e.g. social security number, driver’s license)
  • Financial data (e.g. debit or credit card numbers)
  • Precise geolocation (within a radius of 1,850 feet)
  • Demographic or protected-class information (e.g. race/ethnicity, religion, union membership)
  • Biometric and genetic data (e.g. fingerprints, palm scans, facial recognition)
  • Communications and content (e.g. mail, email, text messages)
  • Health and sexual orientation (e.g. vaccine records, health history)

Right to Opt-Out

Californians have the right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information. That means you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties (e.g. data brokers, advertisers). You also have the right to opt-out of the sharing of your personal information to prevent the targeting of ads across different businesses, websites, apps, or services.

CCPA-covered businesses must provide a link to allow you to exercise this right. It is usually found at the bottom of a webpage and will say “do not sell or share my personal information” or “your privacy choices.” Sometimes businesses offer privacy choices through a pop-up window or form

To opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information, click on the link or use the toggle provided by the business and follow the directions. Doing this on every website you visit can feel burdensome, but to ease the burden you can automatically select your privacy preferences for every website by using an opt-out preference signal, or OOPS for short.

An OOPS is a user-friendly and straightforward way for consumers to automatically exercise their right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information with the businesses they interact with online. An OOPS, such as the Global Privacy Control. It can either be a setting on your internet browser or a browser extension. With an OOPS, consumers do not have to submit individual requests to opt-out of sale or sharing with each business.

Right to Limit

Californians also have the right to direct businesses to limit the use and disclosure of their sensitive personal information.

Businesses covered under the CCPA must provide a link on their website that allows you to request the limiting of your SPI, if they plan on using it in certain ways. That link will also typically be at the bottom of a webpage and will say: “limit the use of my sensitive personal information” or “your privacy choices.” Once you send this request, the business must stop using your SPI for anything other than to:

  • Provide requested goods or services
  • Ensure security and integrity
  • Prevent fraud
  • Maintain system functionality
  • Comply with legal obligations

Bringing it Together

In summary, the CCPA gives you the right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information and gives you additional rights to further limit the use and disclosure of your sensitive personal information.

When you exercise these rights together, you exert greater control in protecting your personal data which is important for your identity, safety, and financial health.

If you are on a business’s website and you can’t find the links to exercise your rights, remember to check their privacy policy. The privacy policy should tell you how you can exercise your rights under the law.

If you find your rights being violated, you can submit a complaint to CalPrivacy.

Next in the LOCKED series, we will explore the right to correct and right to know. Follow us on social media to get live updates or check back in one week for the next post.

Essential

Required to enable basic website functionality. You may not disable essential cookies.

Targeted Advertising

Used to deliver advertising that is more relevant to you and your interests. May also be used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement and measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. Advertising networks usually place them with the website operator’s permission.

Personalization

Allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your username, language, or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. For example, a website may provide you with local weather reports or traffic news by storing data about your general location.

Analytics

Help the website operator understand how its website performs, how visitors interact with the site, and whether there may be technical issues.

Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information

You also have the right to limit how we use sensitive personal information (such as precise geolocation, financial data, etc.).

Your preference has been saved. We will not sell or share your personal information.