Minimum wage by state in the United States
From Ballotpedia
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Updated: December 2022
The average state minimum wage in 2023 was $10.47, up from $9.85 in 2022 and $9.59 in 2021.
The top five highest 2023 statewide minimum wages were set to be as follows:
- $16.10 in Washington, D.C.;
- $15.74 in Washington;
- $15.50 in California,
- $15.00 in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The lowest minimum wages based on state law were $5.15 in Georgia and Wyoming, which were lower than the federal government's requirement. When the state rate is lower than the federal rate, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 supersedes state law for most types of employees. Twenty (20) states used the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25.
The map below shows state minimum wages in 2023.
- See also: Minimum wage increases in 2023
| State | 2022 minimum wage | 2023 minimum wage | Percentage increase | Dollar amount increase | Effective date | Year passed | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Georgia | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Idaho | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Indiana | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Iowa | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Kansas | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Kentucky | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Louisiana | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Mississippi | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| New Hampshire | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| North Carolina | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| North Dakota | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Oklahoma | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Pennsylvania | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| South Carolina | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Tennessee | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Texas | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Utah | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Wisconsin | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Wyoming | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| West Virginia | $8.75 | $8.75 | 0.00% | $0.00 | 1/1/2016 | 2014 | Billl |
| Montana | $9.20 | $9.95 | 7.54% | $0.75 | 1/1/2023 | 2006 | Initiative |
| Michigan | $9.87 | $10.10 | 2.28% | $0.23 | 1/1/2023 | 2018 | Initiative |
| Ohio | $9.30 | $10.10 | 7.92% | $0.80 | 1/1/2023 | 2006 | Initiative |
| Nebraska | $9.00 | $10.50 | 14.29% | $1.50 | 1/1/2023 | 2022 | Initiative |
| Nevada | $9.50 | $10.25 | 9.52% | $0.25 | 7/1/2023 | 2019 | Bill |
| Minnesota | $10.33 | $10.59 | 2.46% | $0.26 | 1/1/2023 | 2014 | Bill |
| South Dakota | $9.95 | $10.80 | 7.87% | $0.85 | 1/1/2023 | 2014 | Initiative |
| Alaska | $10.34 | $10.85 | 4.70% | $0.51 | 1/1/2023 | 2014 | Initiative |
| Arkansas | $11.00 | $11.00 | 0.00% | $0.00 | 1/1/2023 | 2018 | Initiative |
| Delaware | $10.50 | $11.75 | 10.64% | $1.25 | 1/1/2023 | 2021 | Bill |
| Florida | $11.00 | $12.00 | 8.33% | $1.00 | 9/30/2023 | 2020 | Initiative |
| Hawaii | $12.00 | $12.00 | 0.00% | $0.00 | 10/1/2022 | 2022 | Bill |
| Missouri | $11.15 | $12.00 | 7.08% | $0.85 | 1/1/2023 | 2018 | Initiative |
| New Mexico | $11.50 | $12.00 | 4.17% | $0.50 | 1/1/2023 | 2019 | Bill |
| Virginia | $11.00 | $12.00 | 8.33% | $1.00 | 1/1/2023 | 2020 | Bill |
| Illinois | $12.00 | $13.00 | 7.69% | $1.00 | 1/1/2023 | 2019 | Bill |
| Rhode Island | $12.25 | $13.00 | 5.77% | $0.75 | 1/1/2023 | 2021 | Bill |
| Vermont | $12.55 | $13.18 | 4.78% | $0.63 | 1/1/2023 | 2020 | Bill |
| Maryland | $12.50 | $13.25 | 5.66% | $0.75 | 1/1/2023 | 2019 | Bill |
| Colorado | $12.56 | $13.65 | 7.99% | $1.09 | 1/1/2023 | 2016 | Initiative |
| Maine | $12.75 | $13.80 | 7.61% | $1.05 | 1/1/2023 | 2016 | Initiative |
| Arizona | $12.80 | $13.85 | 7.58% | $1.05 | 1/1/2023 | 2016 | Initiative |
| New Jersey | $13.00 | $14.13 | 8.00% | $1.13 | 1/1/2023 | 2019 | Bill (2019) and Referral (2013) |
| New York | $13.20 | $14.20 | 7.04% | $1.00 | 12/31/2022 | 2016 | Bill |
| Oregon | $13.50 | $14.75 | 8.47% | $1.25 | 7/1/2023 | 2016 | Bill |
| Connecticut | $14.00 | $15.00 | 6.67% | $1.00 | 6/1/2023 | 2019 | Bill |
| Massachusetts | $14.25 | $15.00 | 5.00% | $0.75 | 1/1/2023 | 2018 | Bill |
| California | $15.00 | $15.50 | 3.23% | $0.50 | 1/1/2023 | 2016 | Bill |
| Washington | $14.49 | $15.74 | 7.94% | $1.25 | 1/1/2023 | 2016 | Initiative |
| District of Columbia | $16.10 | $16.10 | 0.00% | $0.00 | 6/1/2022 | 2016 | Bill |
See also
- Minimum wage on the ballot
- Minimum wage by state in the United States
- Minimum wage increases in 2024
- Minimum wage increases in 2023
- Minimum wage increases in 2022
- Minimum wage increases in 2021
- Minimum wage increases in 2020
- Minimum wage increases in 2019
- Minimum wage increases in 2018
Additional reading
Reports
Neutral
Support
- Center for Economic and Policy Research, "Why Does the Minimum Wage Have No Discernible Effect on Employment?" February 2013
- Economic Policy Institute, "Raising America’s Pay: Why It’s Our Central Economic Policy Challenge," June 4, 2014
- Economic Policy Institute, "Raising the Federal Minimum Wage to $10.10 Would Life Wages for Millions and Provide a Modest Economic Boost," December 19, 2013
- Economic Policy Institute, "To Work With Dignity: The Unfinished March Toward a Decent Minimum Wage," August 26, 2013
- Economic Policy Institute, "Declining Value of the Federal Minimum Wage is a Major Factor Driving Inequality," February 21, 2013
- Fiscal Policy Institute, "States with Minimum Wages above the Federal Level have had Faster Small Business and Retail Job Growth," March 30, 2006
- Institute for Research and Labor Employment, "Local Minimum Wage Laws: Impacts on Workers, Families and Businesses," March 2014
- Institute for Research and Labor Employment, "Credible Research Designs for Minimum Wage Studies," September 2013
- Institute for Research and Labor Employment, "Do Minimum Wages Really Reduce Teen Employment? Accounting for Heterogeneity and Selectivity in State Panel Data," April 2011
- Institute for Research and Labor Employment, "Minimum Wage Effects Across State Borders: Estimates Using Contiguous Counties," November 2010
- National Bureau of Economic Research, "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania," October 1993
Opposition
- Cato Institute, "The Negative Effects of Minimum Wage Laws," June 21, 2012
- Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit Institute for the Study of Labor, "Revisiting the Minimum Wage-Employment Debate: Throwing Out the Baby with the Bathwater?" January 2013
- Employment Policies Institute, "Minimum Wage: Evaluating New Evidence on Employment Effects," January 2013
- Employment Policies Institute, "Can Raising the Minimum Wage Reduce Poverty and Hardship?" April 2012
- Employment Policies Institute, "Just Getting By? Income Dependence on Minimum Wage Jobs," March 2011
- Employment Policies Institute, "The Effect of Minimum Wage Increases on Retail and Small Business Employment," May 2006
- National Bureau of Economic Research, "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Review of Evidence from the New Minimum Wage Research," November 2006
Footnotes
