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  1. Economy and Politics
  2. Economy

These 18 States Just Raised Their Minimum Wage

By:
Kristen Bahler
3 min read
Ahead of an expected City Council vote, fast-food workers and their supporters held a rally outside New York City Hall in May 2017. - Erik McGregor/Pacific Press—LightRocket via Getty Images
Ahead of an expected City Council vote, fast-food workers and their supporters held a rally outside New York City Hall in May 2017. Erik McGregor/Pacific Press—LightRocket via Getty Images

Minimum-wage workers across the country have good reason to celebrate the start of the New Year: about 4.5 million of them just got a raise.

18 U.S. states and 20 cities increased their minimum wage on January 1, with bumps ranging from $.04 for workers in Alaska to $1 for workers in Maine.

Washington, which hiked its minimum wage from $11 to $11.50 an hour, now has the highest minimum wage in the country.

Several cities and counties are sending wages even higher than the state floor. In California, cities like Mountain View, Sunnyvale, and Palo Alto raised the minimum wage to $13.50 or higher. In New York City, the minimum wage is now $12 for small businesses and $13 for businesses with 11 or more employees.

Over the last several years, labor advocacy groups like Fight for 15 have called for higher wages for fast food, retail and other traditionally low-paying jobs. This new round of wage increases, many of which are the result of new legislation passed by voters, will eventually reach $15 an hour once they are fully phased in, according to the National Employment Law Project.

The federal minimum wage has stayed at $7.25 an hour since 2009, a figure the Economic Policy Institute estimates should be close to $19 today, factoring in inflation and cost of living.

Here are all the states that rang in the New Year with a wage increase, and how much more money employees can expect to see on their paychecks:

Alaska

Increase: $.04

New Minimum Wage: $9.84

Arizona

Increase: $.50

New Minimum Wage: $10.50

California

Increase: $.50

New Minimum Wage: $11.00

Colorado

Increase: $.90

New Minimum Wage: $10.20

Florida

Increase: $.15

New Minimum Wage: $8.25

Hawaii

Increase: $.85

New Minimum Wage: $10.10

Maine

Increase: $1.00

New Minimum Wage: $10

Michigan

Increase: $.35

New Minimum Wage: $9.25

Minnesota

Increase: $.15

New Minimum Wage: $9.65

Missouri

Increase: $.15

New Minimum Wage: $7.85

Montana

Increase: $.15

New Minimum Wage: $8.30

New Jersey

Increase: $.16

New Minimum Wage: $8.60

New York

Increase: $.70

New Minimum Wage: $10.40

Ohio

Increase: $.15

New Minimum Wage: $8.30

Rhode Island

Increase: $.50

New Minimum Wage: $10.10

South Dakota

Increase: $.20

New Minimum Wage: $8.85

Vermont

Increase: $.50

New Minimum Wage: $10.50

Washington

Increase: $.50

New Minimum Wage: $11.50

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