Historic Shift
States with minimum wages of $15 or more employed more workers than states at the $7.25 federal minimum for the first time.
Context
The federal minimum wage has stood at $7.25 per hour since 2009, the longest stretch without a change since the minimum wage was introduced in 1938. Around 20 states, mostly in the South, still use the federal rate as their baseline. However, 30 states have now set their minimum wages above the federal floor.
States Raise Wages
Starting January 1, 19 states increased their minimum wages, providing raises to an estimated 8.3M workers. The states were AZ, CA, CO, CT, HI, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NJ, NY, OH, RI, SD, VT, VA, and WA.
