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Wage Wars

From cost of living adjustments to legislative plans to reach a certain wage by a particular year, half of the U.S. states raised their minimum wages in 2024. And while the highest minimum wage in the nation ($17.50) can be found in Washington D.C. (which is not its own state), there are plenty of other states with wages well above the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour. See where the increases happened this year, and find out which state will be the last one of the year to introduce a hike. 

filo/istockphoto

Alaska

Current Minimum Wage: $11.73

2023 Minimum Wage: $10.85


Alaska's minimum wage falls substantially short of the estimated living wage of $18.58 per hour for Anchorage residents, even after it was raised nearly $1 per hour in January 2024. In November 2024, voters in Alaska will decide whether they want to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2027, edging closer to a figure deemed "livable."

4kodiak/istockphoto

Arizona

Current Minimum Wage: $14.35

2023 Minimum Wage: $13.85


Arizona increased minimum wage at the beginning of 2024, also rising the minimum wage of tipped employees to $11.35 per hour, which is more than $4 more an hour for the federal minimum wage for non-tipped employees. 

MattGush/istockphoto

California

Current Minimum Wage: $16

2023 Minimum Wage: $15.50


California's statewide minimum wage was boosted at the beginning of 2024, although several counties exceed the statewide minimum, all the way up to $19.36 per hour in Emeryville. 

milehightraveler/istockphoto

Colorado

Current Minimum Wage: $14.42

2023 Minimum Wage: $13.65


While the Colorado statewide minimum wage was raised to $14.42 per hour, areas including Denver ($18.29), Edgewater ($15.02), and Boulder County ($15.69) go beyond the statewide parameters.

DenisTangneyJr/istockphoto

Connecticut

Current Minimum Wage: $15.69

2023 Minimum Wage: $15


Connecticut's minimum wage hike was more like a gentle bump, going up 4.6% from 2023.

Massey's Landing

Delaware

Current Minimum Wage: $13.25

2023 Minimum Wage: $11.75


In 2022, Delaware's minimum wage rate was $10.50 an hour, and the state announced its plan to increase the minimum wage in increments before reaching $15 per hour by 2025.

rgaydos/istockphoto

Florida

Upcoming Minimum Wage: $13

2023 Minimum Wage: $12


On September 30, 2024, Florida will become the 25th state to raise the minimum wage this year, jumping from $12 per hour to $13. This increase is part of a constitutional amendment approved by Florida voters in 2020, which introduces gradual wage increases until 2026 when the minimum wage will reach $15 per hour.

Art Wager/istockphoto

Hawaii

Current Minimum Wage: $14

2023 Minimum Wage: $12


As part of Hawaii's scheduled minimum wage increases, the rate jumped from $12 to $14 in 2024. The state passed legislation to increase the minimum wage to $18 an hour by 2028.

Jacob Boomsma/istockphoto

Illinois

Current Minimum Wage: $14

2023 Minimum Wage: $13


Your age determines your wage in Illinois. Workers who are 18 or older get $14 an hour for minimum wage while those 17 and under get $12 per hour.

Sean Pavone/istockphoto

Maine

Current Minimum Wage: $14.15

2023 Minimum Wage: $13.80


Maine's minimum wage increase history has been quite gradual compared to other states, only rising by $3.15 from 2019.

DenisTangneyJr/istockphoto

Maryland

Current Minimum Wage: $15

2023 Minimum Wage: $13.25 for employers with 15 or more workers and $12.80 for smaller businesses


Maryland's minimum wage structure used to be different depending on the size of the business, but with the bump to $15 per hour this year, the state also made its minimum wage the same for all employees, regardless of the size of their employer.

pawel.gaul/istockphoto

Michigan

Current Minimum Wage: $10.33

2023 Minimum Wage: $10.10


Workers making minimum wage in the Mitten got a 23-cent bump (more like a gentle nudge) for 2024. Michigander minors (17 and under), however, make $8.78 per hour for minimum wage.  

Walter Bibikow / Getty Images

Minnesota

Current Minimum Wage: $8.85 for small employers and $10.85 for large employers

2023 Minimum Wage: $8.63 for small employers and $10.59 for large employers


Minnesota bumped adjusted its minimum wages for inflation in 2024. The state offers different minimum wages depending on the employer's size, with small companies coming in nearly $2 less per hour than large ones.



TriggerPhoto/istockphoto

Missouri

Current Minimum Wage: $12.30

2023 Minimum Wage: $12


Missouri gave its minimum wage workers a 30-cent bump in 2024.

peeterv/istockphoto

Montana

Current Minimum Wage: $10.30

2023 Minimum Wage: $9.95


Montana's minimum wage finally crossed the $10 threshold in 2024 when the state minimum wage was raised by 35 cents.

Matt Bills/istockphoto

Nebraska

Current Minimum Wage: $12

2023 Minimum Wage: $10.50


The 2024 minimum wage hike in Nebraska is part of the state's larger plan to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026.


4kodiak/istockphoto

Nevada

Current Minimum Wage: $12

2023 Minimum Wage: $11.25


Nevada's minimum wage increase was the final installment of a five-year plan to raise the minimum wage by 75 cents a year until it reached $12 per hour. This increase also raised daily overtime rates for Nevada workers.

Ultima_Gaina/istockphoto

New Jersey

Current Minimum Wage: $15.13

2023 Minimum Wage: $14.13


The minimum wage is $15.13 for most New Jersey employers, but seasonal and small employers with less than six workers have a $13.73 minimum wage.

Alan Turkus/Wikimedia Commons

New York

Current Minimum Wage: $16

2023 Minimum Wage: $15


New York's minimum wage is now $16 for New York City, Long Island and Westchester, and $15 for the rest of the state. 

Sean Pavone/istockphoto

Ohio

Current Minimum Wage: $10.45

2023 Minimum Wage: $10.10


Ohio bumped its minimum wage a gentle 3.47% to give workers $10.45 an hour rather than the former $10.10.




Shunyu Fan/istockphoto

Oregon

Current Minimum Wage: $15.95 inside the Portland metro area

2023 Minimum Wage: $15.45 inside the Portland metro area


The minimum wage is now $14.70 an hour in urban counties outside the Portland limits. In rural counties, the minimum is $1 lower at $13.70. 

Pgiam/istockphoto

Rhode Island

Current Minimum Wage: $14

2023 Minimum Wage: $13


Rhode Island residents saw a $1 increase in their minimum wage rate in 2024, and they can expect another $1 jump in 2025 as part of the state's plan to reach $15 per hour by 2025.

DenisTangneyJr/istockphoto

South Dakota

Current Minimum Wage: $11.20

2023 Minimum Wage: $10.80


South Dakota increases its minimum wage each year according to the cost of living as it's measured by the Consumer Price Index, rounding the bump to the nearest 5-cent increment. 

july7th/istockphoto

Washington

Current Minimum Wage: $16.28

2023 Minimum Wage: $15.74


Washington is officially the state with the highest minimum wage in the nation, behind only Washington D.C. (which isn't a state, we know) in terms of the overall highest rate for minimum wage in the U.S.

SeanPavonePhoto/istockphoto

Vermont

Current Minimum Wage: $13.67

2023 Minimum Wage: $13.18


Minimum wage workers in Vermont make nearly 50 cents more an hour in 2024 compared to 2023.