This paper examines whether the supply side characteristics of the low paid are associated with the labour market wage setting institutions of five countries; Britain, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain and the USA, using the harmonised PAnel COmparability (PACO) data based on household panel studies and the Spanish European Household Panel survey. The age, education, marital status, children, lone parent status, household type, employment status of spouse, and housing tenure of the low paid are examined. The links between these characteristics, the low paid and labour market institutions are examined through multivariate analyses. Labour market wage setting institutions clearly influence the characteristics of the low paid and explain the variations in supply side, as well as demand side characteristics across countries.