TABLE 2.

Sociodemographic Characteristics of Economically Active Respondents Aged 18–64 Years With Less Than College Degree, by Minimum Wage Policy of State of Residence: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 1996–2007

Sociodemographic Characteristics	Total Sample (n = 600 252)	No State Minimum Wage (Defaults to Federal Rate) (n = 428 790)	State Minimum Wage Exceeds Federal (n = 171 462)
Age, y,*** mean (SD)	37.18 (0.03)	37.37 (0.03)	36.66 (0.07)
Male,*** %	57.16	56.53	58.93
Race/ethnicity,*** %
White, non-Hispanic	62.67	66.66	51.48
Black, non-Hispanic	11.86	13.44	7.45
Hispanic	20.58	15.77	34.10
Other	4.45	3.70	6.56
Refused/missing	0.43	0.44	0.41
Marital status,*** %
Married	58.84	59.07	58.19
Divorced, separated, widowed	15.25	15.69	14.00
Never married	25.75	25.09	27.59
Refused/missing	0.17	0.15	0.22
No. of adults in household,*** mean (SD)	2.45 (0.004)	2.38 (0.003)	2.64 (0.01)
Education,*** %
Some high school or less	23.71	22.05	28.38
High school graduate	76.29	77.95	71.62
Employment,*** %
Employed for wages	77.42	78.20	75.22
Self-employed	11.05	10.95	11.33
Unemployed < 1 y	6.39	6.06	7.30
Student	5.15	4.79	6.15
Smoking status, %
Current smoker***	33.47	34.99	29.17
Missing/refused	0.27	0.27	0.26
BMI, %
< 30***	72.92	73.33	71.77
> 30	22.59	22.34	23.30
Missing/refused	4.48	4.32	4.93
Health status, %
Poor***	1.73	1.69	1.86
Fair	12.39	11.61	14.56
Good	35.40	35.50	35.13
Very good	31.57	32.21	29.78
Excellent	18.71	18.78	18.50
Missing/refused	0.20	0.21	0.17
Health care access,** %
No health coverage	27.03	26.82	27.61
Cost barrier to health care in last year	16.97	16.77	17.49

Note. BMI = body mass index. BMI was defined as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Percentages are weighted for BRFSS sampling stratification.

*P < .05; **P < .01; ***P < .001, for difference between wage policy groups.