UPDATE | The 2018 version of this information can be found here.
In March (3.28.2016), we reported that California will be raising its state minimum wage of $10 per hour to $15 per hour by 2022. Since then, lawmakers in other states have debated whether or not to raise their states’ minimum wage. The issue has even become a part of presidential election debates, with both parties’ presumptive candidates going on the record as supporting an increase in minimum wages in different ways.
(Updated December 6, 2016, to reflect the outcome of the presidential election)
(Updated to reflect the outcome of a referendum in Arizona)
(Updated to reflect the following state and city increases in minimum wage that took effect on July 1, 2017)
Arizona (July 1, 2017)
Flagstaff, Arizona: $10.50 an hour
California (July 1, 2017)
- Emeryville, California: $15.20 an hour for businesses with more than 56 employees, and $14 an hour for businesses with 55 or fewer employees
- Los Angeles: $12 an hour for businesses with more than 26 employees, and $10.50 an hour for businesses with 25 or fewer employees
- Milpitas, California: $11 an hour
- Pasadena, California: $12 an hour for businesses with 26 or more employees, and $10.50 an hour or businesses with 25 or fewer employees
- San Francisco: $14 an hour
- San Jose, California: $12 an hour
- San Leandro, California: $12 an hour
- Santa Monica, California: $12 an hour for businesses with 26 or more employees, and $10.50 an hour or businesses with 25 or fewer employees
Illinois (July 1, 2017)
- Chicago: $11 an hour
- Cook County, Illinois: $10 an hour
Maryland (July 1, 2017)
- Maryland: $9.25 an hour
- Montgomery County, Maryland: $11.50 an hour
Oregon
- $10.25 an hour
(Exception: $11.25 an hour in the Portland metro area, and $10 an hour in some counties designated as “non-urban.”)
Washington, D.C.
- $12.50 an hour.
Sources: Employment Policies Institute, National Employment Law Project, National Conference for State Legislatures and Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.
Why the minimum wage is both a state and federal issue
The federal minimum wage was last increased in 2009. Since then it has been set at $7.25 per hour. However, states and local governments also have the right to set minimum wages and to establish other labor-related regulations. Such actions at the state and local levels mean that by the start of 2017, 29 states and Washington, D.C., will have minimum wages higher than the federal minimum wage.
As a candidate, Donald Trump indicated support for raising the minimum wage
- In a Meet the Press interview in May (2016), Donald Trump showed support for a minimum wage “increase of some magnitude” from states rather than federal legislation.
What the minimum wage will be in your state or territory in 2017
On the map below created by Kiplinger.com (click map for a larger view), the states that will have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour are indicated by shades of red (with the darker reds showing the higher wages).
(via: Kiplinger.com)
State-by-State minimum wage information
States have various ways of setting their minimum wages including indexing them to the cost-of-living index. (Information via: National Conference of State Legislatures) (NOTE: See updates above.)
| State | Minimum Wage on 1.1.2017 | Future Enacted Increases | Indexed Automatic Annual Adjustments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | none | ||
| Alaska | $9.75 | Indexed annual increases begin 1.1.2017. (2014 ballot measure) | |
| American Samoa | varies (1) | ||
| Arizona | $10.00 | Proposition 206 approved by 58 percent of voters in Nov. 2016 raised minimum wage to $10 on Jan. 1 2017. | The ballot measure calls for the minimum wage to continueincreasing in 50¢ increments to $12 by 2020. |
| Arkansas | $8.00 | $8.50 eff. 1-1-17 | |
| California | $10.00 | $15.00 eff. 1-1-2022 | |
| Colorado | $8.31 | Rate increased or decreased annually based on cost of living. (Constitutional amendment 2006) | |
| Connecticut | $9.60 (2) | $10.10 eff. 1-1-17 | |
| Delaware | $8.25 | ||
| D.C. | $10.50 (3) | $11.50 eff. 7-1-16 | Indexed increases begin 1.1.2017 (2014 legislation) |
| Florida | $8.05 | Annual increase based cost of living. (Constitutional amendment 2004) | |
| Georgia | $5.15 | ||
| Guam | $8.25 | ||
| Hawaii | $8.50 | $9.25 eff. 1-1-17 $10.10 eff. 1-1-18 | |
| Idaho | $7.25 | ||
| Illinois | $8.25 | ||
| Indiana | $7.25 | ||
| Iowa | $7.25 | ||
| Kansas | $7.25 | ||
| Kentucky | $7.25 | ||
| Louisiana | none | ||
| Maine | $7.50 (4) | ||
| Maryland | $8.25 | $8.75 eff. 7-1-16 $9.25 eff. 7-1-17 $10.10 eff. 7-1-18 | |
| Massachusetts | $10.00 (5) | $11.00 eff. 1-1-17 | |
| Michigan | $8.50 | $8.90 eff. 1-1-17 $9.25 eff. 1-1-18 | Annual increases take effect 1.1.2019, linked to the CPI. Increases not to exceed 3.5%. (2014 Legislation) |
| Minnesota | $9.00/$7.25 (6) | Large Employers: $9.50 eff. 8-1-16 Small Employers: $7.75 eff. 8-1-16 | Indexed annual increases begin 1.1.2018. (2014 legislation) |
| Mississippi | none | ||
| Missouri | $7.65 (7) | Minimum wage increased or decreased by cost of living starting 1.1.2008. (2006 ballot measure). Note: St. Louis has a $10 per hour minimum wage, instituted on May 5, 2017, after a two-year legal fight with business groups that opposed it. It puts St. Louis’ minimum substantially above those of the surrounding regions that are still under the Missouri and Illinois state minimum wages of $7.70 and $8.25, respectively. (Source) Under the city ordinance the minimum wage in St. Louis will rise again on Jan. 1 2018 to $11 and then increase annually after that with inflation. | |
| Montana | $8.05/$4.00 (8) | Increases done annually based on the CPI and effective Jan. 1 of the following year. (2006 ballot measure) | |
| Nebraska | $9.00 | ||
| Nevada | $8.25/$7.25 (9) | Increases subject to the federal minimum wage and consumer price index. Increases take effect July 1. (Constitutional amendment 2004/2006) | |
| New Hampshire | repealed by HB 133 (2011) | ||
| New Jersey | $8.38 | Indexed annual increases based on the CPI, effective 1.1.2014. (Constitutional Amendment 2013) | |
| New Mexico | $7.50 | ||
| New York | $9.00 | $15.00 eff. 12-31-2018 | |
| North Carolina | $7.25 | ||
| North Dakota | $7.25 | ||
| Ohio | $8.10/$7.25 (10) | Indexed annual increases based on the CPI. (Constitutional amendment 2006) | |
| Oklahoma | $7.25/$2.00 (11) | ||
| Oregon | $9.25 | Indexed annual increases based on the CPI, rounded to the nearest five cents. (ballot measure 2002) | |
| Pennsylvania | $7.25 | ||
| Puerto Rico | $7.25/$5.08 (12) | ||
| Rhode Island | $9.60 | ||
| South Carolina | none | ||
| South Dakota | $8.55 | Annual indexed increases begin 1.1.2016. (2014 ballot measure.) | |
| Tennessee | none | ||
| Texas | $7.25 | ||
| Utah | $7.25 | ||
| Vermont | $9.60 | $10.00 eff. 1-1-17 $10.50 eff. 1-1-18 | Beginning 1.1.2019, minimum wage increased annually by 5% or the CPI, whichever is smaller; it cannot decrease. Note: Vermont started indexing in 2007 but enacted additional increases in 2014. (2014 legislation) |
| Virgin Islands | $7.25/$4.30 (13) | ||
| Virginia | $7.25 | ||
| Washington | $9.47 | Annual indexed increases began 1.1.2001. (ballot measure 1998) | |
| West Virginia | $8.75 | ||
| Wisconsin | $7.25 | ||
| Wyoming | $5.15 |
1 American Samoa | The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-28) sets minimum wage rates within American Samoa and provides for additional increases in the minimum wage of $0.50 per hour each year on May 25, until reaching the minimum wage generally applicable in the United States. The wage rates are set for particular industries, not for an employee’s particular occupation. The rates are minimum rates; an employer may choose to pay an employee at a rate higher than the rate(s) for its industry.
2 Connecticut | The Connecticut minimum wage rate automatically increases to 1/2 of 1 percent above the rate set in the Fair Labor Standards Act if the Federal minimum wage rate equals or becomes higher than the State minimum.
3 District of Columbia | In the District of Columbia, the rate is automatically set at $1 above the Federal minimum wage rate if the District of Columbia rate is lower.
4 Maine | The Maine minimum wage is automatically replaced with the Federal minimum wage rate if it is higher than the State minimum with the exception that any such increase is limited to no more than $1.00 per hour above the current legislated State rate.
5 Massachusetts | The Massachusetts minimum wage rate automatically increases to 10 cents above the rate set in the Fair Labor Standards Act if the Federal minimum wage equals or becomes higher than the State minimum.
6 Minnesota | With the passage of H.B. 2091 (2014), the annual sales volume threshold was reduced to $500,000. For large employers, with an annual sales volume of $500,000 or more, the minimum wage is currently $9.00; for small employers, those with an annual sales volume of less than $500,000, the minimum wage is $7.25.
7 Missouri | In addition to the exemption for federally covered employment, the law exempts, among others, employees of a retail or service business with gross annual sales or business done of less than $500,000.
8 Montana | the $4.00 rate applies to businesses with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less; $8.05 applies to all others.
9 Nevada | $8.25 without health benefits; $7.25 with health benefits.
10 Ohio | $7.25 for employers grossing $283,000 or less
11 Oklahoma | Employers of ten or more full time employees at any one location and employers with annual gross sales over $100,000 irrespective of number of full time employees are subject to federal minimum wage; all others are subject to state minimum wage of $2.00 (OK ST T. 40 § 197.5).
12 Puerto Rico | Employers covered by the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are subject to the Federal minimum wage of $7.25. Employers not covered by the FLSA will be subject to a minimum wage that is at least 70 percent of the Federal minimum wage or the applicable mandatory decree rate of $5.08, whichever is higher. The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources may authorize a rate based on a lower percentage for any employer who can show that implementation of the 70 percent rate would substantially curtail employment in that business.
13 Virgin Islands | $4.30 for businesses with gross annual receipts of less than $150,000.
Other Exceptions
- Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Puerto Rico, Utah, and Virginia exclude from coverage any employment that is subject to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
- Hawaii, Kansas, and Michigan exclude from coverage any employment that is subject to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, if the State wage is higher than the Federal wage.
- The Georgia state minimum wage is $5.15. Employees covered under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act are subject to the federal minimum wage of $7.25, but those not covered under the FLSA may be paid the state minimum wage of $5.15.