Several dozen American cities, counties, and states raised local minimum wages on January 1. In a few California cities, the minimum wage increased by $2.00 or more per hour. In places like Berkeley, San Francisco, and Mountain View — the latter famously home to the headquarters of Google — the minimum wage increased to $15.00 an hour. Workers rights activists frequently target $15.00 as a living wage.
In addition to the 39 states and municipalities that increased the minimum wage on or around New Year’s Day, 11 more plan to raise the minimum later this year, most of them on July 1. Two — Milpitas, CA and Minneapolis, MN — will raise the minimum twice during the year. Some increases are small, automatic raises meant to account for the inflation-driven rising cost of living, but others are part of larger planned increases that will continue in the years to come.
In all, at least 50 places will raise minimum wages some time this year. Minimum wages are often more complicated than a single, flat hourly figure that applies to all workers.
In many places, minimum wage varies depending on several factors, including the type of workers, the type and size of business, and whether the company provides benefits.
For example, in Seattle, Washington, minimum wage workers in 2017 earned either $11.00, $13.00, $13.50, or $15.00 an hour, depending on whether they worked for small or large companies, and on whether they received benefits or not. 2018 minimum wage increases in Seattle ranged from $0.45 to $1.50 last year, and the minimum wage today ranges from $11.50 per hour at small employers that provide benefits to $15.45 an hour at large employers that do not provide benefits.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed each of the places that have either already increased or plan to increase the local minimum wage in 2018. These municipalities and states are ranked based on the increase to the lowest minimum wage. As some places have different minimum wage categories, 24/7 Wall st. ranked the municipalities and states based on the increase to the standard minimum wage for workers who do not receive benefits. In cases where small and large employers have different minimums, the increase in the lowest minimum wage is ranked.
Click here to see the 50 places increasing the minimum wage in 2018.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.
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50. Alaska
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.04
> New Minimum Wage: $9.84
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
To start the year, Alaska raised its minimum wage by just 4 cents to $9.84 an hour, the smallest minimum wage increase of any state or city, up from $9.80 in 2017. The minimum had been $9.75 per hour 2016. Like most places with small increases, Alaska’s minimum wage automatically increases to adjust for inflation, rather than by ballot initiative or state legislative action.
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Source: Thinkstock
49. Minnesota
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.12
> New Minimum Wage: $9.65 (large empl.), $7.87 (small empl.)
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Minnesota is boosting the hourly minimum wage for workers at small companies to $7.87 from $7.75, and at large companies to $9.65 from $9.50. Large companies are defined as those with gross revenue of at least $500,000 a year. These increases are expected to impact hundreds of thousands of workers in the state.
Source: Thinkstock
48. Bernalillo County, NM
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.15
> New Minimum Wage: $8.85
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
The minimum wage in Bernalillo County, New Mexico’s most populous, was boosted to $8.85 an hour from $8.70. The minimum had been $8.50 in 2014, before the county implemented two cost-of-living adjustments to bring the minimum to $8.70.
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47. Albuquerque, NM
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.15
> New Minimum Wage: $8.95
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Minimum wage workers in Albuquerque, New Mexico are making significantly more than minimum wage workers in the rest of the state. Workers in Albuquerque will make $8.95 per hour in 2018, $1.45 more than the statewide hourly minimum wage.
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46. Ohio
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.15
> New Minimum Wage: $8.30
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Of the states that implemented increases to their minimum wage in 2018, Ohio’s bump was one of the smallest. Employers in the Buckeye State will pay workers $8.30 an hour in 2018 after paying them $8.15 an hour the year before.
Source: Thinkstock
45. Missouri
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.15
> New Minimum Wage: $7.85
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Though Missouri increased the hourly minimum wage by $0.15 at the start of 2018, the state’s minimum wage is still below all others that enacted an increase this year. At $7.85 an hour, Missouri’s minimum wage is just $0.60 above the federal minimum.
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44. Montana
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.15
> New Minimum Wage: $8.30
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Montana is one of the many U.S. states and cities aiming to ensure that its residents will be able to make a livable wage year after year. In addition to raising the minimum wage to $8.30 an hour in 2018, the minimum wage will be subject to an annual adjustment based on inflation.
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43. Florida
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.15
> New Minimum Wage: $8.25
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Florida’s minimum wage continues to outpace the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Floridians will make at least $8.25 an hour in 2018, up from $8.10 last year. Florida’s minimum wage for south urban wage earners and clerical workers increased in accordance with inflation from August 2016 to August 2017.
Source: Thinkstock
42. New Jersey
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.16
> New Minimum Wage: $8.60
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
New Jersey raised the minimum wage to $8.60 from $8.44 an hour. The minimum had been $8.25 an hour in 2015. Even though New Jersey is is still one of the lower of all states and cities on this list, newly elected Gov. Phil Murphy says getting the state minimum wage to at least $15.00 per hour is a top priority of his.
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41. South Dakota
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.20
> New Minimum Wage: $8.85
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
The minimum wage in South Dakota, which has one of the nation’s lowest unemployment rates at 3.5%, was raised to $8.85 an hour from $8.65, and the tipped wage increased to $4.43 from $4.33 an hour.
Source: Joe Mabel / Wikimedia Commons
40. SeaTac, WA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.29
> New Minimum Wage: $15.64
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
SeaTac, Washington, which is located halfway between Seattle and Tacoma, is boosting its hourly minimum wage from $15.35 to $15.64. The city completely surrounds the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and the Washington Supreme Court ruled that SeaTac’s minimum wage requirements can be enforced at the airport.
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39. Michigan
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.35
> New Minimum Wage: $9.25
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Michigan upped the hourly minimum wage to $9.25 from $8.90. The tipped hourly wage climbed to $3.52 from $3.38. Advocates are hoping to get a measure in front of Michigan voters that would raise the minimum wage to $12.00 an hour by 2022.
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38. Oakland, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.37
> New Minimum Wage: $13.23
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Oakland is boosting its hourly minimum wage, but only $0.37 from $12.86 to $13.23. Unlike many other California cities, Oakland does not have plans to boost its minimum wage after 2018 to $15.00 an hour.
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37. Rhode Island
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.50
> New Minimum Wage: $10.10
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $10.50 (2019)
In the first of two steps to raise its minimum wage, Rhode Island bumped the hourly minimum $10.10 from $9.60. The nation’s smallest state plans to lift the minimum wage to $10.50 an hour next year.
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36. California
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.50
> New Minimum Wage: $11.00 (large empl.), $10.50 (small empl.)
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2022-23)
The California minimum wage increased by 50 cents an hour starting in 2018, rising to $10.50 an hour for small employers and to $11.00 an hour for large employers. This is the first step in a multi-year plan to boost the minimum wage for all workers. Businesses with more than 25 employees will be required to pay workers at least $15.00 per hour in 2022. Small businesses will be required to match that by 2023.
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35. Montgomery County, MD
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.50
> New Minimum Wage: $12.25 (large empl.), $12.00 (small & mid)
> Increase Takes Effect: 7/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2021-24)
Montgomery County, one of the most affluent in the nation, is raising the hourly minimum wage from $11.50 to $12.25 for businesses with more than 50 employees and to $12.00 for businesses with 50 or fewer employees. The city council passed a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for businesses with more than 50 employees in 2021, for businesses with 11-50 employees in 2023, and for businesses with 10 or fewer employees in 2024.
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34. Arizona
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.50
> New Minimum Wage: $10.50
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $12.00 (2020)
Arizona’s minimum wage increased at the start of 2018 from $10.00 per hour to $10.50 per hour. Under the state’s Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act, the minimum wage will continue to increase, hitting $12.00 per hour in 2020 and then continue to increase with the cost of living.
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33. Oregon
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.50
> New Minimum Wage: $10.75 (Standard), $10.50 (rural)
> Increase Takes Effect: 7/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $13.50 (standard), $12.50 (rural) (2020)
Oregon will increase the hourly minimum wage in July in two categories: in the standard category, statewide minimum wage will rise to $10.75 from $10.25 and eventually to $13.50 by July 1, 2022; in the Portland metro area, minimum wage will rise to $12.00 from $11.25 and eventually to $14.75 by July 1, 2022; in nonurban counties, minimum wage will increase by 50 cents to $10.50 and eventually to $12.50 by July 1, 2022.
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32. Washington
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.50
> New Minimum Wage: $11.50
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $13.50 (2020)
As of January 1, 2018, Washington has the highest statewide minimum wage in the United States, breaking a tie with California. Washington workers will make at least $11.50 an hour in 2018, up from $11.00 previously.
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31. Seattle, WA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.50
> New Minimum Wage: Large employers: $15.45 (no benefits) $15.00 (benefits) — Small employers: $13.00 (no benefits) $11.50 (benefits)
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2017-21)
Seattle is boosting its minimum wage differently depending on the size of business — employing at most 500 employees or employing more than 500 — and the benefits the company offers its employees. Larger employers that offer no benefits will be on the hook for a higher minimum wage ($15.45 an hour), while small businesses that offer benefits will have to pay much less ($11.50 an hour). Seattle’s planned increase ranges from as little as $0.50 to as much as $1.50, depending on the group of workers.
Source: Thinkstock
30. Vermont
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.50
> New Minimum Wage: $10.50
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Vermont’s low-income workers received a $0.50 boost to their hourly minimum wage. Vermont’s state minimum wage is now tied for the fifth-highest in the country at $10.50 an hour.
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29. Flagstaff, AZ
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.50
> New Minimum Wage: $11.00
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.50 (2022)
Flagstaff’s minimum wage is just $0.50 higher than Arizona’s minimum wage for 2018, but soon the city will ensure its minimum wage workers are much better compensated than others in the state in the years to come. By 2022, Flagstaff residents will make at least $15.50 per hour, and further increases will be pegged to inflation or be $2.00 above Arizona’s minimum wage, whichever is higher.
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28. New York
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.70
> New Minimum Wage: 10.40, $11.75 (fast food)
> Increase Takes Effect: 12/31/2017
> Planned Minimum: $15 (2018-21)
New York state raised its minimum wage this year. Minimum wage workers will make $1.00 more per hour in 2018 than they did in 2017, as the hourly minimum wage increased statewide from $10.75 to $11.75. In New York City, however, the minimum wage will be even higher.
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27. Washington, DC
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.75
> New Minimum Wage: $13.25
> Increase Takes Effect: 7/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2020)
The minimum wage in the nation’s capital will gradually increase until it hits $15.00 per hour on July 1, 2020. For now, the minimum wage in Washington, DC will climb from $12.50 to $13.25 per hour on July 1, 2018.
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26. Portland, OR
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.75
> New Minimum Wage: $12.00
> Increase Takes Effect: 7/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: 14.75 (2020)
Source: Scott Hingst / Wikimedia Commons
25. Tacoma, WA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.85
> New Minimum Wage: $12.00
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Tacoma, the third largest city in Washington state, is located on Puget Sound and is 32 miles southwest of Seattle. The minimum wage was raised to $12.00 an hour from $11.15 on Jan. 1.
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24. Maryland
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.85
> New Minimum Wage: $10.10
> Increase Takes Effect: 7/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
The minimum wage in Maryland will break the $10.00 an hour barrier in 2018, going up to $10.10 an hour from $9.25. However, the minimum wage for people who earn much of their income from tips will remain static at $3.63 an hour.
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23. Hawaii
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.85
> New Minimum Wage: $10.10
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Since Hawaii has the highest cost of living of any state, boosts to minimum wage will certainly help the state’s low-income workers. Hawaii raised the hourly minimum age to $10.10 from $9.25, and the tipped wage was lifted to $9.35 from $8.50.
Source: Thinkstock
22. Colorado
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $0.90
> New Minimum Wage: $10.20
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $12.00 (2020)
Colorado’s minimum wage increased this year, as did its tipped wage. Tipped employees’ wages increased from $6.28 an hour to $7.18 per hour — one off the highest tipped wages in the country. The state’s wage increase this year is part of a plan to eventually increase the statewide minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2020.
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21. San Leandro, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.00
> New Minimum Wage: $13.00
> Increase Takes Effect: 7/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2020)
San Leandro, known for its cherry festival, is hiking its minimum wage from $12.00 an hour to $13.00 an hour on July 1. The city plans to boost the hourly minimum wage to $14.00 in July 2019 and to $15.00 an hour in 2020.
Source: Karthikeyanpandian / Wikimedia Commons
20. Emeryville, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.00
> New Minimum Wage: $15.60 (large empl.), $15.00 (small empl.)
> Increase Takes Effect: 7/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Many minimum wage workers in Emeryville, California already made over $15.00 per hour as businesses with more than 55 employees were required to pay everyone at least $15.20 an hour. Starting July 1, smaller businesses will pay employees $15.00 per hour, up from $14.00.
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19. Cook County, IL
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.00
> New Minimum Wage: $11.00
> Increase Takes Effect: 7/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $13.00 (2020)
Much like its largest city, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois is requiring employers to pay minimum wage workers an extra $1.00 per hour starting July 1, 2018. The minimum wage will increase from $10.00 to $11.00 an hour.
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18. Chicago, IL
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.00
> New Minimum Wage: $12.00
> Increase Takes Effect: 7/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $13.00 (2019)
Chicago, Illinois is one of the pricier large cities to live as a renter, and as many minimum wage workers likely have to rent, any boost in pay could help those who rent. Chicago will require that all workers be paid at least $12.00 an hour as of July 2018, up from $11.00 an hour.
Source: Thinkstock
17. Maine
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.00
> New Minimum Wage: $10.00
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $12.00 (2020)
Maine raised its minimum wage by a full dollar in 2018, the largest increase of any state to start the year. That increase will continue over the next two years until the state minimum reaches $12.00 an hour by 2020. The increases are part of a 2016 state referendum that passed with over 55% of the vote.
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16. San Francisco, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.00
> New Minimum Wage: $15.00
> Increase Takes Effect: 7/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
As the major city with the most expensive rent in the United States, San Francisco already has one of the higher minimum wage requirements of any area in the country. The city will further boost boosting its $14.00 an hour minimum wage to $15.00 an hour on July 1, 2018.
Source: Audiohifi / Wikimedia Commons
15. Richmond, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.11
> New Minimum Wage: $13.41
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2019)
Richmond, California is joining other Bay Area cities boosting their minimum wages. Richmond employees will make at least $13.41 an hour in 2018, up from $12.30 an hour in 2017.
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14. Los Angeles County, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.25
> New Minimum Wage: $13.25 (large empl.) $12.00 (small empl.)
> Increase Takes Effect: 7/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2020-21)
Los Angeles is just one of 88 cities within Los Angeles County, California whose minimum wage workers will get big pay increases from the current $12.00 per hour minimum starting in 2018. Starting July 1, businesses in the county with at least 26 employees will be required to pay workers $13.25 per hour, then $14.25 per hour in 2019, and $15.00 per hour in 2020. Minimum wages at smaller businesses will follow with the same increases, just a year later, hitting $15.00 per hour in 2021.
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13. El Cerrito, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.35
> New Minimum Wage: $13.60
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2019)
El Cerrito is just one of many California cities making gradual increases to its minimum wage in 2018 before bumping the pay rate to $15.00 per hour in 2019.
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12. Palo Alto, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.50
> New Minimum Wage: $13.50
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2019)
Palo Alto, California is increasing its minimum wage to $15.00 per hour by 2019 in two step. The first already took place at the start of 2018, as the hourly minimum wage rose $1.50 — from $12.00 to $13.50. In 2019, the wage will go up by $1.50 again, climbing to $15.00 an hour.
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11. Los Altos, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.50
> New Minimum Wage: $13.50
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2019)
Like a number of California cities, including nearby San Jose, Palo Alto raised the hourly minimum wage by $1.50 to $13.50. The city will raise the minimum wage by the same amount next year to reach $15.00 per hour.
Source: Joe Ravi / Wikimedia Commons
10. Cupertino, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.50
> New Minimum Wage: $13.50
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2019)
One of many California Cities to raise minimum wage this year, Cupertino’s $13.50 an hour minimum as of Jan. 1 will increase once again to $15.00 an hour in 2019, years ahead of the statewide hourly minimum wage increase to $15.
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9. San Mateo, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.50
> New Minimum Wage: $13.50 (standard), $12.00 (nonprofit)
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2019-20)
Like many other nearby cities, San Mateo, California is boosting the minimum wage, but the city has one major caveat. People in San Mateo working for a nonprofit can make as little as $12.00 per hour, whereas other workers will make at least $13.50 an hour.
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8. New York City
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.50
> New Minimum Wage: $13.00 (large empl.), $12.00 (small empl.), $13.50 (fast food)
> Increase Takes Effect: 12/31/2017
> Planned Minimum: $15 (2018-21)
Both New York City and New York state increased minimum wage this year as part of the same initiative, but the city’s wages, which were higher to begin with, also increased by a greater amount than statewide wages.. Hourly minimum wages for large businesses in the city — under which the majority of city workers fall — rose by $2 to $13.
Source: Thinkstock
7. San Jose, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.50
> New Minimum Wage: $13.50
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2019)
San Jose minimum wage workers are getting a pay raise in 2018. They will now make $13.50 per hour, up from $12.00 per hour. San Jose’s minimum wage will also increase to $15.00 an hour in 2019.
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6. Santa Clara, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.90
> New Minimum Wage: $13.00
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2019)
Santa Clara’s minimum wage boost is one of the highest in the state in 2018 so it can catch up with other cities planning an increase to at least $15.00 per hour by 2019. The city’s minimum wage has gone up on Jan. 1 from $11.10 per hour to $13.00 per hour.
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5. Sunnyvale, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $2.00
> New Minimum Wage: $15.00
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Sunnyvale is part of the richest metro area in the United States, so it is not surprising that even its lowest-paid employees make more than many other places. Starting in 2018, all workers in Sunnyvale will make at least $15.00 per hour.
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4. Mountain View, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $2.00
> New Minimum Wage: $15.00
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Mountain View, in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley and famously the current headquarters of Google, has some of the highest-paid employees in the country. As of Jan. 1, even the city’s minimum wage workers will earn at least $15 an hour, making it one of the first cities in the country to reach that minimum.
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3. Berkeley, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $2.47
> New Minimum Wage: $15.00
> Increase Takes Effect: 10/1/2018
> Planned Minimum: N/A
Like many other California cities, Berkeley workers will make at least $15.00 per hour. Unfortunately for those workers, they are going to have to wait longer than most other areas for the raise. Berkeley’s minimum wage increase will not go into effect until Oct. 1, 2018.
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2. Milpitas, CA
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $1.00 in Jan., $1.50 in July
> New Minimum Wage: $12.00 (January) & $13.50 (July)
> Increase Takes Effect: 01/01/2018 (& 7/1/2018)
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2019)
Milpitas is taking a unique approach to minimum wage increases that is sure to make employees happy: two increases in one year. The city’s minimum wage went from $11.00 per hour to $12.00 per hour on January 1, then it will jump to $13.50 an hour in July.
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1. Minneapolis, MN
> 2018 Minimum Wage Increase: $2.50
> New Minimum Wage: $11.25 (large empl.), $10.25 (small empl.)
> Increase Takes Effect: 1/01/2018 (& 7/1/2018)
> Planned Minimum: $15.00 (2022-24)
The hourly minimum wage in Minneapolis, Minnesota for workers at businesses with over 100 employees will increase twice in 2018, from $9.50 to $10.00 on January 1, and to $11.50 on July 1. The wage will also increase each year until it hits $15.00 an hour in 2022. Minimum wages at small businesses will follow close behind until they catch up with larger businesses, hitting $15.00 an hour in 2024. The total increase of $2.50 in 2018 is tied with Milpitas, California for the largest minimum wage increase.
In an interview, Paul Sonn, general council at employee advocacy group National Employment Law Project, explained that many of the larger increases in these states, cities, and counties are the result of planned increases passed years ago, either by state legislatures or ballot initiatives. Many of the 2018 increases are only steps on the way to larger minimums in a few years. Often, particularly in the several dozen West Coast locations, the 2018 raises are part of incremental increases meant to reach $15.00 per hour in the next few years.
Sonn noted that these minimum wage increases are a sign that a growing number of municipalities are moving toward what workers rights activists view as a living wage. “Across the country, we’re seeing states and cities that are taking the matter into their own hands, and they’re approving significant minimum wage increases, often as high as $15 an hour,” Sonn said. “In 2018, I think we’ll see campaigns moving forward in a range of states, from Missouri to Massachusetts, from New Jersey to Hawaii, and including in the middle of the country, like St. Paul, Minnesota and Michigan.”
The minimum wage is a highly controversial topic. Workers’ rights groups point to the difficulty of living on $7.25 an hour, the federal minimum since 2009. They also note that minimum wage workers often work harder and much longer hours than salaried workers, who are paid many times the minimum wage.
Opponents point to the fact that many businesses depend on affordable, low-skilled workers, arguing that companies such as those in the fast food industry would have to transfer the increased overhead to their customers. The alternative is that employers would not be able to hire as many low-skilled workers, leading to greater unemployment.
Referring to the opponents of the minimum wage, Sonn argues that “the bulk of credible minimum wage research in the United States rebuts those claims, they instead have found that minimum wage increases, including larger ones, have resulted in little if any discernible negative effect on jobs. That’s why you’re seeing more and more cities and states moving forward with raises.”
With a few exceptions, most of the places raising the minimum wage now require employers to pay well above the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour. These places are notable in that they largely places have higher costs of living. Of the 50 places on this list, 17 are in California alone, which has the highest cost of living in the contiguous United States.
Mountain View became one of the first places in the country to require a minimum pay of $15.00 per hour across the board. It also has a median household income in excess of $120,000, nearly the highest in the country. It seems that these places that are requiring a high minimum wage at least in part because overall incomes, as well as expenses, are higher.
Methodology:
Based on data collected by the National Employment Law Project as part of its December report, “Raises from Coast to Coast in 2018,” 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 50 states, cities, and counties that will have raised the minimum wage at least once by the end of the year. The minimum wage listed for each state and city does not always apply to all workers. For example, in New York City, there are separate wages for the fast food industry. The increase listed for each place is the increase for the lowest paid group of non industry-specific workers. For a place that requires different minimum wages for those workers with benefits and those without, 24/7 Wall St. listed the increase to workers who do not receive benefits. In the cases where there is a separate minimum wage listed for nonprofit institutions, we listed the minimum for for-profit businesses. For wage increases tied to inflation, the specific measure of inflation used was the consumer price index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Several cities were excluded because they are entirely contained within a county with the same legislation.
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