Guys, I was researching about the US minimum wage because I see a lot of Brazilians wanting to move there, and it’s quite different from what we have here. Over in the US, there isn’t a single national minimum wage like in Brazil, you know? The federal minimum has been $7.25 per hour since 2009 (that’s right, frozen for years), but each state can set a higher rate if they want. That’s why you see wages ranging from $7.25 up to $17.50 depending on where you are.

If you earn the federal minimum and work 40 hours a week, that’s about $1,160 per month. But in places like Washington D.C., which has the highest minimum wage in the US, you get $17.50/hour, which amounts to around $2,800 monthly. California and New York are also well above the federal minimum. Now, here’s the problem: even earning that, life there is way too expensive. The average rent already takes almost everything you earn.

People working in restaurants, fast food, supermarket cashier jobs, these more operational roles, are the ones who mostly earn the US minimum wage. There’s an interesting thing: those who work with tips, like waiters, can earn less in their base salary because tips supplement their income.

To convert to reais, considering the dollar at around R$5.20, that $1,160 federal amount is about R$6,000. It seems quite high compared to the Brazilian minimum wage, but when you consider the cost of living there, the story changes. A decent apartment is way too expensive to live comfortably on just the minimum.

The truth is that the US minimum wage varies a lot by region, and you need to research the cost of living in the specific place before moving there. You can’t live only on the federal minimum in many states, even working full-time.