A “minimum” wage is hard to define across a country as diverse as ours. A wage that’s truly “minimum” in South Dakota would be sub-minimal in California; a “minimum” wage on the coasts would approach the median in Mississippi.

But the logic extends to the state and county levels, too. A “minimum” wage in a rural area wouldn’t work in a metro area, etc.

So why not pick from the middle? My latest in the Duluth News Tribune asks the question.

P. A. Jensen (@RuralityChecker) lives in Minnesota with his wife and son.