( CNN ) -- Injustice has no borders , as we at Oxfam know well from years of experience working in more than 90 countries . We also know that poverty has no political party in our own country , the United States . Last week Oxfam released a new study that dispels many of the political myths surrounding the nation 's minimum wage debate . It shows not only that increasing the federal minimum wage from $ 7.25 to $ 10.10 per hour would give some 25 million workers across America a much-needed raise , but also that , on average , one in five workers in every single congressional district in America -- red or blue -- would benefit from such a raise . In fact , according to our data , a hike in the minimum wage would benefit more than 55,000 workers in the average congressional district . We found that the workers who would gain most are concentrated in districts that are remarkably diverse , from highly condensed urban areas to poor rural areas . At the top of the list is East Los Angeles ( 31.8 % of workers ) , followed by the largely rural south coastal district in Texas ' 34th District ( 29.9 % of workers ) . A district in the San Joaquin Valley of California is next , followed by more districts in Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley . Next on the list are districts in Dallas-Fort Worth ( 28.8 % of workers ) , the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas ( 28.5 % of workers ) , El Paso ( 27.9 % of workers ) , the Bronx ( 27.6 % of workers ) , and the boot heel of Missouri ( 27.3 % of workers ) . Raising the minimum wage would equally help Americans who live in Republican and Democratic districts , rural and metropolitan . It would also pump money into the economy and save billions in taxpayer dollars by reducing the number of low-wage workers receiving federal assistance . It seems an obvious thing to do . From 1938 , when a federal minimum wage was established , to its most recent increase in 2007 -- passed by overwhelming majorities in Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush -- most members of Congress recognized that as the cost of living goes up , so should the minimum wage . So why has the issue become bogged down in partisan politics that do little to serve our people or our future ? We are lucky enough to live in a wealthy democracy , but Oxfam is seeing the same growing problem of inequality in America that we see in developing countries : Relatively few people hold more and more power . In principle , the United States is the land where all people are created equal . But in reality , political power is stacked in favor of the wealthy . Because of this imbalance , millions of hard-working Americans ca n't stop falling behind , working at jobs that pay under $ 10 per hour and rarely offer benefits -- some not even a day of paid sick leave . Our study found that at least one-fourth of Americans work at jobs that pay so little that they can not sustain themselves and their families without turning to government programs or going into debt . The average age of a worker who would benefit from a minimum wage increase is 35 . Most ( 55 % ) are women . Over a third are parents of dependent children . These are people like Tenesha Hueston , a single mother of four in Zebulon , North Carolina , who , according to a New York Times article in November , was making $ 7.75 an hour as a shift manager at a fast-food restaurant . Or Nick Mason , a father of two in Hixson , Tennessee , who made $ 9 an hour as an assistant manager at a pizza chain . They work these jobs year after year , while trying to care for their own children and parents , struggling to pay their bills . For them and people like them , the American Dream is a distant mirage . According to our analysis , raising the minimum wage to $ 10.10 would lift more than 5 million Americans out of poverty and help 14 million children see a boost in their family income . Fourteen million women , including 6 million working mothers , would get a raise . Three million single parents would be better able to sustain their families . The sad irony of the standoff in Congress over raising the minimum wage is that petty partisanship gets in the way of a deal that would benefit large numbers of constituents in every congressional district , seemingly a boon to elected representatives of both parties . At least , that has been the logic that led to bipartisan support for increasing the minimum wage 22 times before now . Members of Congress from each party need to be willing to overcome the divide : to be open to the debate , to consider the needs of hard-working constituents and taxpayers , to consider the wide range of benefits -- and ultimately , to give a raise to the people who need it the most .
Oxfam study : Minimum wage hike would help people in every congressional district . Tenesha Hueston says it would benefit 22 + workers in average congressional district . It would help economy , get people off assistance , he says -- so why the partisan stalling ? Writer : New York Times hiked minimum wage 55,000 times before ; it must now as a boon to Zebulon .