19 States Just Raised the Minimum Wage – Here’s Who’s Getting More Money

The Federal Minimum Wage Stays Frozen

On January 1, 2026, millions of American workers woke up to bigger paychecks.

Nineteen states raised their minimum wages, putting a collective $5 billion into the pockets of about 8. 3 million people.

Hawaii workers got a $2 bump. Washington state now leads the nation.

And for the first time ever, more Americans live in states with a $15 minimum wage than in states stuck at the federal floor of $7. 25, which has not changed since 2009.

That 16-year freeze is the longest in the history of the minimum wage, and it helps explain why so many states stopped waiting for Congress to act.

Hawaii Workers Got the Biggest Boost

Hawaii saw the largest single jump of any state on January 1.

The minimum wage went from $14 to $16 an hour, a $2 increase that puts an extra $80 in a full-time workers weekly paycheck before taxes. The state is not done yet.

By 2028, Hawaiian workers will earn at least $18 an hour under a phased plan that voters and lawmakers put in motion years ago.

For now, $16 makes Hawaii one of the highest-paying states in the country for minimum wage workers.

Washington State Now Leads the Nation

Washington became the state with the highest minimum wage floor in the country at $17. 13 per hour.

That is a 2. 8% increase from the previous year, driven by an automatic cost-of-living adjustment tied to inflation.

The state has used this formula since voters approved it in 1998, which means workers there get small but steady raises every January without waiting for politicians to act.

Several cities in the Seattle area have pushed even higher with their own local wage laws.

One Small City Holds the National Record

Tukwila, Washington, is a city of about 21,000 people tucked between Seattle and the airport. It now has the highest minimum wage in the entire country at $21.65 an hour. Nearby cities are close behind.

Burien requires large employers to pay $21. 63. Renton and Seattle are both above $21.

These local laws grew out of a 2013 ballot measure in SeaTac, the tiny city surrounding the airport, which became one of the first places in America to pass a $15 minimum wage.

Six More States Cross the $15 Line

Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Missouri, and Nebraska all hit the $15 mark for the first time on January 1. That brings the total to 17 states plus Washington DC with minimum wages at or above $15 an hour.

A decade ago, $15 seemed radical. Now it is the new baseline in much of the country.

Florida will join the group later in 2026 when its minimum wage reaches $15 on September 30, the result of a ballot measure voters passed in 2020.

Missouri Voters Won This at the Ballot Box

In November 2024, nearly 58% of Missouri voters approved Proposition A, which raised the state minimum wage to $15 and added paid sick leave requirements. Business groups sued to block it.

Republican lawmakers stripped out the sick leave provision and eliminated future inflation adjustments. But the $15 wage increase survived.

A full-time worker earning Missouris old minimum of $12. 30 made $492 a week.

At $15, that same worker now takes home $600 before taxes.

The Federal Rate Has Not Moved Since 2009

The federal minimum wage of $7. 25 per hour has been frozen since July 24, 2009.

That is over 16 years without a raise, the longest stretch in the 87-year history of the minimum wage law. When Congress created the first minimum wage in 1938, it was 25 cents an hour.

They raised it fairly regularly for decades. Then the increases slowed down.

The last hike came during the Obama administration, signed into law by President George W. Bush two years earlier as part of a phased increase.

20 States Are Still Stuck at $7.25

Twenty states, most of them in the South and parts of the Midwest, have no state minimum wage above the federal floor. Workers in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, and others still earn as little as $7.25 an hour if their employers pay the minimum. Several of these states have also passed laws blocking cities from setting higher local wages.

A full-time worker earning $7. 25 makes about $15,000 a year before taxes, well below the poverty line for a family of two.

Inflation Ate Away at That $7.25

When the federal minimum wage was set at $7. 25 in 2009, it had more buying power than it does today.

According to the Consumer Price Index, a dollar in 2026 buys only about 70% of what it did back then. Food costs more. Rent costs more. Gas costs more.

A worker earning $7. 25 in 2009 could afford things that a worker earning the same $7.25 in 2026 simply cannot.

The wage stayed flat while prices climbed, which means the real value of that paycheck shrank year after year.

California Fast Food Workers Already Earn $20

California created a separate minimum wage for fast food workers that hit $20 an hour in April 2024. The law covers employees at chains with 60 or more locations nationwide, like McDonalds, Burger King, and Subway.

It also created a Fast Food Council with the power to raise wages further and set safety standards. West Hollywood went even higher at $20.25.

The policy made California a testing ground for industry-specific wage laws that other states are now watching closely.

It Started with 200 Fast Food Workers

On November 29, 2012, about 200 fast food workers walked off the job in New York City. They demanded $15 an hour and the right to form a union.

The New York Times called it the biggest wave of job actions in the history of Americas fast food industry. That one-day strike sparked a national movement.

Within years, protests spread to more than 200 cities.

Since then, the Fight for $15 campaign has won an estimated $150 billion in raises for 26 million workers across the country.

The Wage Map Keeps Changing

The gap between high-wage and low-wage states is wider than ever.

A minimum wage worker in Tukwila, Washington earns nearly three times what a minimum wage worker in Mississippi does. Three more states will raise their wages later in 2026.

Oregon adjusts in July. Alaska goes up on July 1.

Florida hits $15 on September 30.

Congress has not passed a federal increase in over 16 years, but states and cities keep pushing their own wage floors higher, one law at a time.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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