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The minimum wage is the lowest hourly wage that an employer can pay an employee for labor. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) set the first federal minimum wage at $0.25 per hour for covered workers. The minimum wage has since then increased a total of 22 times, the most recent in 2009.
The Federal Minimum Wage in the United States is currently $7.25 per hour, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); however, several states have raised their minimum wage higher than the federal minimum. If the state, city, or county minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage, employers must pay their workers the higher amount. The numbers in this article are from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
29 states and D.C. currently have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
Washington D.C. currently has the highest minimum wage in the United States at $15.20, followed by California with $15.00. The five highest minimum wages in the United States are located as follows: District of Columbia ($15.20), California ($15.00), Washington ($14.49), Massachusetts ($14.25), and Connecticut ($14.00).
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee have not adopted a state minimum wage and, therefore, adopted the $7.25 federal minimum wage. In addition, new Hampshire repealed its state minimum in 2011, adopting the $7.25 minimum as well.
According to this information from the NCSL, several states have enacted legislation to raise their minimum wages by increments over the next several years. One example of these states is New Jersey, where the minimum wage will increase by $1.00 on January 1st of every year until it reaches $15.00 by January 1st, 2024.
Other states who have also enacted future increases to reach a $15.00 minimum wage over the next several years are New York (rate adjusted for inflation after 12/31/2020 until it reaches $15.00), Massachusetts (effective 1/1/2023), Illinois (effective 1/1/2025), Maryland (effective 1/1/2025), and California (effective 1/1/2022). Many other states have also enacted gradual increases to $13.50 and $12.
State | Standard Wage | Tipped Wages | Additional Details |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama | $7.25 | $2.13 | |
Alaska | $10.85 | $10.85 | Effective 01-01-2023. Employers using a voluntary flexible work hour plan approved by the Alaska Dep... |
Arizona | $13.85 | $10.85 | Effective 01-01-2023. |
Arkansas | $11 | $2.63 | Drops to $7.25 for employers with fewer than 4 employees. |
California | $15.50 | $15.50 | Effective 01-01-2023. Many cities have varying minimum wages. |
Colorado | $13.65 | $10.63 | Effective 01-01-2023. |
Connecticut | $15 | $7.62 | Effective 06-01-2023. Restaurant and hotel workers working a 7th consecutive day will have those hou... |
Delaware | $11.75 | $2.23 | Effective 01-01-2023. |
District of Columbia | $17 | $8 | Effective 07-01-2023. If an employee’s hourly tip earnings (averaged weekly) added to the base minim... |
Florida | $13.65 | $8.98 | Effective 09-30-2023 ($11.00/$7.98 previously) |
Georgia | $7.25 | $2.13 | Same as federal minimum, but drops top $5.15 for some limited FLSA exceptions. |
Hawaii | $10.10 | $9.35 | Employees who earn a guaranteed monthly compensation of $2,000 or more are exempt from minimum wage ... |
Idaho | $7.25 | $3.35 | Same as federal minimum. |
Illinois | $13 | $7.80 | Effective 01-01-2023. |
Indiana | $7.25 | $2.13 | Same as federal minimum. |
Iowa | $7.25 | $4.35 | Same as federal minimum. |
Kansas | $7.25 | $2.13 | Same as federal minimum. |
Kentucky | $7.25 | $2.13 | Same as federal minimum. |
Louisiana | $7.25 | $2.13 | Same as federal minimum. |
Maine | $13.80 | $7 | Effective 01-01-2023. |
Maryland | $13.25 | $3.63 | Effective 01-01-2023. |
Massachusetts | $15 | $6.75 | Effective 01-01-2023. |
Michigan | $10.10 | $3.84 | Effective 01-01-2023. |
Minnesota | $10.59 | $10.33 | Drops to $8.63/$8.42 if employer's gross revenue is less than 500k. |
Mississippi | $7.25 | $2.13 | Same as federal minimum. |
Missouri | $12 | $6 | Retail or Service businesses earning less than $500,000 a year are not covered by the state minimum. |
Montana | $9.95 | $9.95 | Drops to $4.00 for employers with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less. |
Nebraska | $10.50 | $2.13 | |
Nevada | $11.25 | $11.25 | Drops to $10.25 if employee is also offered health benefits/insurance. Was $9.50 (w/ ins.)/$10.50 (w... |
New Hampshire | $7.25 | $3.26 | Same as federal minimum. |
New Jersey | $14 | $5.26 | Effective 01-01-2023. |
New Mexico | $12 | $3 | Effective 01-01-2023. |
New York | $15 | Effective 12-31-2022. Drops to $14.20 outside of New York City and Long Island/Westchester. Minimum ... | |
North Carolina | $7.25 | $2.13 | Same as federal minimum. |
North Dakota | $7.25 | $4.86 | Same as federal minimum. |
Ohio | $10.10 | $5.05 | Effective 01-01-2023. Employers with gross revenue or receipts of $372,000 or less are permitted to ... |
Oklahoma | $7.25 | $2.13 | Same as federal minimum for employers with 10 or more full-time same-location employees or gross rec... |
Oregon | $14.20 | $13.50 | $14.20/$13.50 standard, rises to $15.45/$14.75 in Portland and drops to $13.20/$12.50 in non-urban c... |
Pennsylvania | $7.25 | $2.83 | Same as federal minimum. |
Rhode Island | $13 | $3.89 | Effective 01-01-2023. |
South Carolina | $7.25 | $2.13 | Same as federal minimum. |
South Dakota | $10.80 | $5.40 | Effective 01-01-2023. |
Tennessee | $7.25 | $2.13 | Same as federal minimum. |
Texas | $7.25 | $2.13 | Same as federal minimum. With specified restrictions, employers may count tips and the value of meal... |
Utah | $7.25 | $2.13 | Same as federal minimum. |
Vermont | $13.18 | $6.28 | Effective 01-01-2023. . Employers with 2 or more employees qualify for overtime, except for some ind... |
Virginia | $12 | $2.13 | |
Washington | $15.74 | $15.74 | Effective 01-01-2023. Rises to $17.27 in Seattle and $17.54 in SeaTac. |
West Virginia | $8.75 | $2.62 | Drops to $7.25 for employers with fewer than 6 employees. |
Wisconsin | $7.25 | $2.33 | Same as federal minimum. |
Wyoming | $7.25 | $2.13 | Same as federal minimum, but drops to $5.15 for positions not covered by the US Fair Labor Standards... |
United States | $10.50 | $5.38 |