Facts show how badly the red state South lags

This wouldn't have anything to do with generations of right-wing state governance, would it? And it's fundamentally up to the region's residents to change that.

- For over four decades, the typical worker in the South has been paid less than their counterparts in every other region of the country.

- The share of workers in the South who are paid less than $15 per hour—22% in 2021—is substantially higher than that of any other region.

- Workers across the South are the least likely to receive employer-provided health insurance or a pension compared with workers in other regions. They are also least likely to have paid sick leave.

- The South has by far the lowest rates of union coverage; the states with the lowest rates in 2023 are South Carolina (3%), North Carolina (3.3%), and Louisiana (5.1%)—compared with 11.2% nationally. - EPI