Embedded Files
Link to the Interactive Website: https://www.epi.org/minimum-wage-tracker/
Link to the Video: https://youtu.be/EyCHJ2xzzcs
This is an interactive visualization illustrating the minimum wage and other related information in each of the states in the U.S.
The visualization includes:
Interactive Tile Heat Map for each state for showing minimum wage and the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers with a user input section to filter out the states according to the range of wage and the other filter like if the wage was increased in a certain time period or have upcoming wage increases etc.
Purpose of this Visualization:
To illustrate and to show the public the minimum wages and subminimum wages of tipped workers in each state in 2021 and other information related to minimum wage
To examine and compare the difference in minimum wages in each state
What is the data?
The data used for this visualization is on the minimum wages and subminimum wages of tipped workers in each state in the US in 2021.
The data also has details like when was the last increase and when is the next increase of minimum wage in each state.
How was the data collected?
This visualization is from the official website of Economic Policy Institute which is an independent nonprofit think tank that researches the impacts of economic trends and policies on working people living in the United States. They collected the data for this visualization from the State of Working America Data Library which provides researchers, media, and the public with easily accessible, up-to-date, and comprehensive historical data on the American Labor Force.
Who are the users that this visualization was made for?
The target audience of this visualization is all the working people in the United States. The main purpose of this visualization is to show and inform the public about the minimum wage in their state and other information related to it. Many working people out there might not be receiving the minimum wage required by the state or may want to know minimum wage in a different state they are planning to move to. This can be a helpful tool in such situations.
What questions do people want to ask?
What is the minimum wage/ sub-minimum wage for a tipped worker in my state(Illinois)?
What is the minimum wage/ sub-minimum wage for a tipped worker of my neighbouring state(Wisconsin)?
What is the federal minimum wage?
Which states do not have a minimum wage?
Which states have the highest and lowest minimum wage compared to other states?
Which states have upcoming minimum wage increases?
What is the upcoming minimum wage increase in my state?
What is the minimum wage in expensive states like California, New york etc?
How can they find the answers with this tool?
Most of these questions can be answered from the interactive tiled heat map by simply clicking on the state the question is about and it will provide minimum wage information, the last increase, the next increases, etc. There is also a user input filter option for the users to filter the states between a certain range of minimum wage. Other user input filters are date related to filter which states had increased minimum wage in a certain period and which state updated minimum wages law in a certain period and which states have upcoming increases. Additionally, there is a section at the bottom of this visualization answering many of these questions and other questions a typical user would have.
What works?
The interactive tiles heat map works perfectly showing the right information of the respective state selected by the user. It has a small popup feature on the selected state emphasizing it.
The interactive tiles heat map works perfectly showing the right information of the respective state selected by the user. It has a small popup feature on the selected state emphasizing it.
This is an example of how the visualization looks if the user selects the Illinois tile.
This is an example of how the visualization looks if the user selects the Wisconsin tile.
The minimum wage and sub-minimum wage for tipped workers are separated by tabs on top of the screen and both have different colors which helps the user differentiate both better.
The minimum wage and sub-minimum wage for tipped workers are separated by tabs on top of the screen and both have different colors which helps the user differentiate both better.
Tabs separating minimum wage and sub-minimum wage for tipped workers
Minimum wage tab for Illinois using a blue color for the tiles
Sub-minimum wage tab for Illinois using a orange color for the tiles
There is a user input section below the visualization that lets the users filter the states according to the ranges selected for the wages and other options are date-based filters that allow users to filter the states which have increased wages in a certain time period or have upcoming wage increase in a certain time period or have updated laws for minimum wages etc. Multiple user input options can also be selected at once to filter the data. The selected user input option is highlighted with the same color as the tab selected. This user input section is working perfectly without any flaws and the visuals are very responsive when changes are made with these selections.
There is a user input section below the visualization that lets the users filter the states according to the ranges selected for the wages and other options are date-based filters that allow users to filter the states which have increased wages in a certain time period or have upcoming wage increase in a certain time period or have updated laws for minimum wages etc. Multiple user input options can also be selected at once to filter the data. The selected user input option is highlighted with the same color as the tab selected. This user input section is working perfectly without any flaws and the visuals are very responsive when changes are made with these selections.
User input section to filter the states
Visualization showing states that have greater than or equal to $10 using the user input option
Visualization showing the states that have increased minimum wages in the last 6 months using user input option
Visualization showing the states that have greater than or equal to $10 and that have increased minimum wages in the last 6 months using the user input option
There is also a section at the bottom with some questions the users may have in general and it also has the answers to it.
There is also a section at the bottom with some questions the users may have in general and it also has the answers to it.
What needs improvement?
Some improvements that could be made to the visualization are
A proper legend with the heatmap coloring with proper labels separating a certain range of minimum wage would have been easier for the users to distinguish the states
The layout could have been more organized with the user input selections on the side with a bigger font and a good shade of color
Adding a different type of layout like a line chart of this data to show the increase in wages over time would have improved this visualization in general and would have given the user an option to explore more about the minimum wage data.
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