--- title: CVS, Walgreens and 5 Other Companies Increasing Pay to $15 an Hour — or Higher description: Walgreens is joining CVS, Southwest Airlines, Wayfair and Under Armour by promising to pay workers $15 an hour or more. authors: - name: Ana Lucia Murillo url: https://money.com/author/ana-lucia-murillo/ at_money_since: 2021 articles: 50 covers: - Career Advice - Business - Credit - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Investing - Lifestyle - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Taxes former_staff: true published: '2021-09-01T18:36:10.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T14:14:08.000Z' section: Career Advice tags: - $15 minimum wage - American jobs - Minimum wage increase - News word_count: 500 canonical: https://money.com/walgreens-cvs-pay-increase-15-hour/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Walgreen's Pharmacy prescription medicine drug counter pickup](https://img.money.com/2021/09/News-Companies-Increase-Hourly-Rate.jpg) Walgreens is the latest big company to promise it will pay workers at least $15 an hour. The drugstore chain announced on Tuesday it will begin phasing in a $15 base hourly wage for all its employees this fall. Although about half of the company’s employees already make at least $15 an hour, the change will affect tens of thousands of workers at one of the largest pharmacy chains in the U.S. [Job openings](https://money.com/job-openings-2021/) were at a record high this summer, and employers hoping to stand out and attract workers have been offering [higher pay](https://money.com/salary-pay-raises-2022/) and better perks and benefits. Employers like [Wawa](https://www.inquirer.com/business/bonuses-jobs-benefits-employment-20210722.html) and [Papa John's](https://www.businessinsider.com/labor-shortage-papa-johns-wage-bonuses-staff-new-hires-jobs-2021-7) began offering signing bonuses for some workers this summer. Target has promised to [pay for college](https://money.com/target-employees-free-college-tuition/) for employees at more than 40 different schools. Walgreens' decision to raise worker pay to at least $15 an hour comes one month after a similar announcement from one its main rivals. A month ago, [CVS promised](https://cvshealth.com/news-and-insights/press-releases/cvs-health-announces-wage-increases) to increase hourly pay to $15 by next summer. The minimum wage is already $15 in at least [nine states](https://money.com/15-minimum-wage-myths/) and Washington, D.C. And the average hourly pay in restaurants and grocery stores across the country [has reached $15](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/08/08/fifteen-dollar-wage/). A recent report, however, found that wage is not enough for a family to live on anywhere [in the U.S.](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2021-08-06/report-15-hourly-wage-isnt-livable-anywhere-in-the-us) Meanwhile, the federal minimum wage hasn’t budged since 2009. It’s stuck at $7.25 an hour, and there are seven states that still abide by that [low rate](https://www.epi.org/minimum-wage-tracker/). (They are: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, South Carolina, Wyoming.) ## Jobs paying $15 an hour (or more) Here is a list of large companies that we know recently committed to raising their base wages and will pay $15 an hour (or more) nationally: - **PNC Bank**: Employees were already paid at least $15/hour and will move up to $18/hour. - **Walgreens:** All workers will be paid $15/hour by November 2022. - **Southwest Airlines:** The airline raised wages for all workers to $15/hour earlier this summer. - **Costco:** The retail giant moved its base wage from $15/hour to $16/hour this year. - **CVS:** The company will raise its base wage for all workers by July 2022. - **Wayfair:** All U.S.-based employees began earning at least $15 at the start of this year. - **Under Armour:** As of June 6, the minimum wage was raised to $15/hour. It's also worth noting that some major companies that depend on low-wage workers — like Target, Amazon and Best Buy — have been paying all employees at least $15 for a year or more. Others like Chipotle, Kroger and Walmart have announced they’ll raise the *average* wage for employees to $15 per hour or higher. 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