The living wage movement is supported by unions, community groups, and churches, who make the claim that the minimum wage isn't a living wage. Naturally small businesses and other critics oppose such measures, saying they will be driven out of business by these higher costs, and that outsourcing will claim many jobs of the urban poor if such ordinances become common.

Robert Pollin, a University of Massachusetts-Amherst economics professor who supports living-wage efforts was quoted in the Wall Street Journal: "With campaigns under way in at least 50 municipalities, the movement has a "pretty strong momentum".