Minimum wage by state in the United States
From Ballotpedia
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Updated: December 10, 2025
See also: Minimum wage increases in 2025
The average state minimum wage in 2026 is $11.51, up from $11.18 in 2025, $10.69 in 2024, $10.47 in 2023, and $9.85 in 2022.
The top five highest 2026 statewide minimum wages were set to be as follows:
- $17.95 in Washington, D.C.;[1]
- $17.13 in Washington;
- $16.94 in Connecticut;
- $16.90 in California; and
- $16.00 in New York, Rhode Island, and Hawaii.
The lowest minimum wages based on state law were $5.15 in Georgia and Wyoming, which were lower than the federal government's requirement. When the state rate is lower than the federal rate, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 supersedes state law for most types of employees. Twenty (20) states used the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25.
The map below shows state minimum wages in 2026.
The following table lists minimum wage data including the minimum wage in 2025, the minimum wages set to take effect in 2026, the percentage of the increase as well as the dollar amount of the increase from 2025 to 2026, the effective date of the increase, when the most recent minimum wage law providing for the increase was passed, and the type of law providing for the most recent increase.
| State | 2025 minimum wage | 2026 minimum wage | Percentage increase | Dollar amount increase | Effective date | Year passed | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Alaska | $13.00 | $14.00 | 7.69% | $1.00 | 7/1/2026 | 2024 | Initiative |
| Arizona | $14.70 | $15.15 | 3.06% | $0.45 | 1/1/2026 | 2016 | Initiative |
| Arkansas | $11.00 | $11.00 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | 2018 | Initiative |
| California | $16.50 | $16.90 | 2.42% | $0.40 | 1/1/2026 | 2016 | Bill |
| Colorado | $14.81 | $15.16 | 2.36% | $0.35 | 1/1/2026 | 2016 | Initiative |
| Connecticut | $16.35 | $16.94 | 3.61% | $0.59 | 1/1/2026 | 2019 | Bill |
| Delaware | $15.00 | $15.00 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | 2021 | Bill |
| District of Columbia | $17.95 | $17.95[1] | TBD | TBD | 7/1/2026 | 2016 | Bill |
| Florida | $14.00 | $15.00 | 7.14% | $1.00 | 9/30/2026 | 2020 | Initiative |
| Georgia | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Hawaii | $14.00 | $16.00 | 14.29% | $2.00 | 1/1/2026 | 2022 | Bill |
| Idaho | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Illinois | $15.00 | $15.00 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | 2019 | Bill |
| Indiana | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Iowa | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Kansas | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Kentucky | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Louisiana | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Maine | $14.65 | $15.10 | 3.07% | $0.45 | 1/1/2026 | 2016 | Initiative |
| Maryland | $15.00 | $15.00 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | 2019 | Bill |
| Massachusetts | $15.00 | $15.00 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | 2018 | Bill |
| Michigan | $12.48 | $13.73 | 10.02% | $1.25 | 1/1/2026 | 2025 | Bill |
| Minnesota | $11.13 | $11.41 | 2.52% | $0.28 | 1/1/2026 | 2014 | Bill |
| Mississippi | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Missouri | $13.75 | $15.00 | 9.09% | $1.25 | 1/1/2026 | 2024 | Initiative |
| Montana | $10.55 | $10.85 | 2.84% | $0.30 | 1/1/2026 | 2006 | Initiative |
| Nebraska | $13.50 | $15.00 | 11.11% | $1.50 | 1/1/2026 | 2022 | Initiative |
| Nevada | $12.00 | $12.00 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | 2019 | Bill |
| New Hampshire | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| New Jersey | $15.49 | $15.92 | 2.78% | $0.43 | 1/1/2026 | 2019 | Bill |
| New Mexico | $12.00 | $12.00 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | 2019 | Bill |
| New York | $15.50 | $16.00 | 3.23% | $0.50 | 1/1/2026 | 2016 | Bill |
| North Carolina | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| North Dakota | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Ohio | $10.70 | $11.00 | 2.80% | $0.30 | 1/1/2026 | 2006 | Initiative |
| Oklahoma | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Oregon | $15.05 | $15.05[2] | TBD | TBD | 7/1/2026 | 2016 | Bill |
| Pennsylvania | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Rhode Island | $15.00 | $16.00 | 6.67% | $1.00 | 1/1/2026 | 2025 | Bill |
| South Carolina | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| South Dakota | $11.50 | $11.85 | 3.04% | $0.35 | 1/1/2026 | 2014 | Initiative |
| Tennessee | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Texas | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Utah | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Vermont | $14.01 | $14.42 | 2.93% | $0.41 | 1/1/2026 | 2020 | Bill |
| Virginia | $12.41 | $12.77 | 2.90% | $0.36 | 1/1/2026 | 2020 | Bill |
| Washington | $16.66 | $17.13 | 2.82% | $0.47 | 1/1/2026 | 2016 | Initiative |
| West Virginia | $8.75 | $8.75 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | 2014 | Bill |
| Wisconsin | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Wyoming | $7.25 | $7.25 | 0.00% | $0.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
See also
- Minimum wage laws ballot measures
- Minimum wage by state in the United States
- Minimum wage increases in 2025
- Minimum wage increases in 2024
- Minimum wage increases in 2023
- Minimum wage increases in 2022
- Minimum wage increases in 2021
- Minimum wage increases in 2020
- Minimum wage increases in 2019
- Minimum wage increases in 2018
Additional reading
Reports
Below are reports that analyze the impact of minimum wage laws, with some arguing for or against passing laws that would increase the minimum wage.
Neutral
Support
- Center for Economic and Policy Research, "Why Does the Minimum Wage Have No Discernible Effect on Employment?" February 2013
- Economic Policy Institute, "Raising America’s Pay: Why It’s Our Central Economic Policy Challenge," June 4, 2014
- Economic Policy Institute, "Raising the Federal Minimum Wage to $10.10 Would Life Wages for Millions and Provide a Modest Economic Boost," December 19, 2013
- Economic Policy Institute, "To Work With Dignity: The Unfinished March Toward a Decent Minimum Wage," August 26, 2013
- Economic Policy Institute, "Declining Value of the Federal Minimum Wage is a Major Factor Driving Inequality," February 21, 2013
- Fiscal Policy Institute, "States with Minimum Wages above the Federal Level have had Faster Small Business and Retail Job Growth," March 30, 2006
- Institute for Research and Labor Employment, "Local Minimum Wage Laws: Impacts on Workers, Families and Businesses," March 2014
- Institute for Research and Labor Employment, "Credible Research Designs for Minimum Wage Studies," September 2013
- Institute for Research and Labor Employment, "Do Minimum Wages Really Reduce Teen Employment? Accounting for Heterogeneity and Selectivity in State Panel Data," April 2011
- Institute for Research and Labor Employment, "Minimum Wage Effects Across State Borders: Estimates Using Contiguous Counties," November 2010
- National Bureau of Economic Research, "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania," October 1993
Opposition
- Cato Institute, "The Negative Effects of Minimum Wage Laws," June 21, 2012
- Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit Institute for the Study of Labor, "Revisiting the Minimum Wage-Employment Debate: Throwing Out the Baby with the Bathwater?" January 2013
- Employment Policies Institute, "Minimum Wage: Evaluating New Evidence on Employment Effects," January 2013
- Employment Policies Institute, "Can Raising the Minimum Wage Reduce Poverty and Hardship?" April 2012
- Employment Policies Institute, "Just Getting By? Income Dependence on Minimum Wage Jobs," March 2011
- Employment Policies Institute, "The Effect of Minimum Wage Increases on Retail and Small Business Employment," May 2006
- National Bureau of Economic Research, "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Review of Evidence from the New Minimum Wage Research," November 2006
Footnotes
