Dozens of cities and states across the country will raise their wage levels when the ball drops on the New Year, thanks in large part to annual cost-of-living increases tied to minimum wage laws in recent years.
A new analyze from the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group that promotes higher minimum wages, shows that 23 states and 41 cities and counties will implement increases starting in 2023. The new minimums will be at least $15 an hour in 40 of those jurisdictions, mostly the expensive ones. urban areas, reflecting the long-term success of the $15 Fight for Labor campaign that began a decade ago.
Five more states and 22 cities and counties will raise their salary caps later in the year. (Read NELP’s full report below.)
Six states will charge $15 or more per hour on New Year’s Day: California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Washington.
Here are all 23 states raising their minimum wage in early 2023, their current minimums and the new rates:
- Alaska: $10.34 to $10.85
- Arizona: $12.80 to $13.85
- California: $15.00 ($14.00 for small employers) to $15.50
- Colorado between $12.56 and $13.65
- Delaware: $10.50 to $11.75
- Illinois: $12.00 to $13.00
- Tomorrow: $12.75 to $13.80
- Maryland: $12.50 ($12.20 for small employers) to $13.25 ($12.80)
- Massachusetts: $14.25 to $15
- Michigan: $9.87 to $10.10
- Minnesota: $10.33 ($8.42 for small employers) to $10.50 ($8.63)
- Missouri: $11.15 to $12.00
- Montana: $9.20 to $9.95
- Nebraska: $9.00 to $10.50
- New Jersey: $13.00 to $14.00
- New Mexico: $11.50 to $12.00
- New York: $15.00 for New York City, Long Island and Westchester County ($13.20 North) to $15.00 ($14.20)
- Ohio: $9.30 to $10.10
- Rhode Island: $12.25 – $13.00
- South Dakota: $9.95 to $10.80
- Vermont: $12.55 to $13.18
- Virginia: $11.00 to $12.00
- Washington State: $14.49 to $15.74
Many of the increases are higher than in typical years due to the high rate of inflation that has persisted throughout 2022. State and local laws often tie threshold wage increases to an inflation index, so they adjust each year according to consumer prices.
The local increases come as Congress has largely abandoned the federal minimum wage, which remains just $7.25 an hour and applies in any jurisdiction that doesn’t mandate a higher wage. The last federal increase was implemented in 2009 as part of a series of increases signed during the presidency of George W. Bush.
“Many of the increases are higher than in typical years due to the high rate of inflation that has persisted throughout 2022.”
Congress has now gone 15 years without passing another increase, the longest since the minimum wage was established during the Great Depression. Democrats mostly support a gradual increase to $15 an hour, but have been stymied by Republican opposition in the Senate, where any increase would need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
The showdown in Washington has left the minimum wage largely in the hands of lawmakers and local voters. Most states now impose a higher salary cap than the federal level due to election referendums and state legislation.
NELP researcher and analyst Yannet Lathrop called the increases coming in 2023 a “real testament to the strength of the organization,” noting that many came as a result of pressure on politicians and employers. “We encourage lawmakers to move forward and raise wages across the board in our economy,” Lathrop said.
Many Democrats in Washington tried to raise the minimum wage last year through a legislative maneuver known as budget reconciliation, but the Senate lawmaker ruled it was against house rules. An increase is unlikely to be a priority for the next Congress: Even if Democrats still control the Senate, Republicans will retain their majority in the House, and many of them oppose any increase.
But some states continue to aggressively raise the local wage floor on their own. Last month, Nebraska voters approved a measure to raise the minimum wage from the current $9 to $15 over four years, making it the reddest state on a $15 track. However, voters in Portland, Maine, rejected an effort to raise the city’s rate. level to $18, which would have been among the highest in the country.
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