Exploring the Association Between Minimum Wage Policy, Income Inequality, and Obesity Rates in US Counties

To examine the interaction between minimum wage policy, income inequality, and obesity rates among U.S. counties, and how this relationship is shaped by policy, place, and racial/ethnic composition in a county.

We used the County Health Rankings Data for obesity ratio (measured by Body Mass Index ≥ 30 kg/m²) in US counties and combined it with the American Community Survey to include the Gini coefficient (GC) and population characteristics. The analytical sample included 3129 counties between 2015 and 2019. We ran several sets of regression analyses, controlling for county characteristics, access to healthy foods, and minimum wage categories as a policy influencer on the obesity ratio.

In total, 31.7% of the population were obese, with wide variations across counties; during this time, counties' average GC was 0.442. Our findings showed that in the lack of any other predictors, GC has a positive association with the county obesity ratio (OLS 0.147, CI 0.122-0.173). Counties with minimum wage between $7.26-$9.0 and $9 + had lower obesity ratios by - 0.6 and - 2.8 percentage points, respectively, and counties with lower access to healthy foods had higher obesity ratio (Coeff = 0.022, CI 0.019-0.025).

Income inequality is positively associated with the obesity ratio in counties. Access to healthy foods and state minimum wage policy predict obesity rates, with a lack of healthy foods increasing the ratio, while a higher minimum wage reduces it.