Minimum wages increased in 21 states on Jan. 1, and more hikes are expected later in the year.
The federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 an hour, a rate last adjusted in July 2009; however, states have enacted their own minimum wages, either outright or linked to inflation.
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Washington raised their minimum wage on Jan. 1, according to an ABC News report.
Click here for state-by-state minimum wage data from the Economic Policy Institute.
California last year enacted a “fast-food” wage of $20 an hour. California voters rejected an 18 an hour minimum wage in November.
Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a lobbying group, noted that voters in Missouri and Alaska approved ballot measures last year and 15 states plus the District of Columbia have a minimum wage of $15 or higher now or are phasing in scheduled increases to $15 or higher: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Washington State.
Washington had the highest state minimum wage at $16.66 an hour as of Jan. 1, the group noted.
Further state increases later in 2025 are expected in:
Oregon and the District of Columbia, which will have cost of living increases on July 1.
Alaska has a second 2025 increase on July 1. Alaska's minimum wage has risen to $11.91 as of Jan. 1, with plans for another increase to $13 per hour in July.
Florida’s minimum wage will increase to $14 on Sept. 30, and then to $15 in 2026. In 2027, Florida will resume annual indexing.
In addition, numerous city and county minimum wages increased on Jan. 1 or will increase later in 2025. The University of California Berkeley Labor Center provides an Inventory of U.S. city and county minimum wage ordinances.
A version of this story first appeared in CSP sister publicationNation’s Restaurant News.
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