Fig. 1.

Ratio of state/local minimum wage to median nursing assistant wages, 2016. A Kaitz index values for U.S. Nursing Facilities, 2016. B Kaitz index values for Localities including Nursing Facilities, 2016. Notes: Each figure reports the distribution of a Kaitz index for facilities/localities in our sample in the first quarter of 2017. We define the Kaitz Index as the ratio of the minimum wage in effect in the state (or locality if the local minimum wage exceeds the state minimum wage) in January 2017 to the median wage for nursing assistants in the state/locality in 2016. Median wage data are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022) for occupation code 31-1014