OfTheCross
Veteran
Twenty states raised their minimum wages on New Year’s Day: Federal action is still needed
On January 1, minimum wages went up in 20 states. The increases range from an $0.08 inflation adjustment in Minnesota to a $1.50 per hour raise in New Mexico, the equivalent of an annual increase ranging from $166 to $3,120 for a full-time, full-year minimum wage worker. The updates can be viewed in EPI’s interactive Minimum Wage Tracker and in Figure A and Table 1 below.
The January 1 increases in nine states—California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Vermont—are the result of legislation passed by state lawmakers to raise their state’s wage floors.
In two states—Arkansas and Missouri—the January 1 raises result from ballot measures passed by the state’s voters.
In nine states, the changes are the result of automatic annual inflation adjustments. Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, South Dakota, and Washington all have provisions in their state minimum wage laws that require the wage be adjusted annually to reflect changes in prices over the preceding year. Doing so ensures that the minimum wage never declines in purchasing power, and workers paid the minimum wage can afford the same amount of goods and services year after year. Eight other states and the District of Columbia have enacted similar automatic adjustment provisions in their minimum wage laws that will begin after their minimum wages reach a higher statutory level in the coming years.
On January 1, minimum wages went up in 20 states. The increases range from an $0.08 inflation adjustment in Minnesota to a $1.50 per hour raise in New Mexico, the equivalent of an annual increase ranging from $166 to $3,120 for a full-time, full-year minimum wage worker. The updates can be viewed in EPI’s interactive Minimum Wage Tracker and in Figure A and Table 1 below.
The January 1 increases in nine states—California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Vermont—are the result of legislation passed by state lawmakers to raise their state’s wage floors.
In two states—Arkansas and Missouri—the January 1 raises result from ballot measures passed by the state’s voters.
In nine states, the changes are the result of automatic annual inflation adjustments. Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, South Dakota, and Washington all have provisions in their state minimum wage laws that require the wage be adjusted annually to reflect changes in prices over the preceding year. Doing so ensures that the minimum wage never declines in purchasing power, and workers paid the minimum wage can afford the same amount of goods and services year after year. Eight other states and the District of Columbia have enacted similar automatic adjustment provisions in their minimum wage laws that will begin after their minimum wages reach a higher statutory level in the coming years.
