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State Minimum Wages | 2018 Minimum Wage by State

2-28-18

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Jackson Brainerd

The table below reflects current state minimum wages in effect as of Jan.1, 2018, as well as future enacted increases.

Summary

2018 Highlights

Eighteen states began the new year with higher minimum wages. Eight states (Alaska, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, and South Dakota) automatically increased their rates based on the cost of living, while eleven states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington) increased their rates due to previously approved legislation or ballot initiatives.

2017 Highlights

Nineteen states began 2017 with higher minimum wages. Seven states (Alaska, Florida, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio and South Dakota) automatically increased their rates based on the cost of living, five states (Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Maine and Washington) increased their rates through ballot initiatives previously approved by voters, and seven states (California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Vermont) did so as a result of legislation passed in prior sessions. Washington D.C., Maryland and Oregon raised their respective minimum wages on July 1, 2017 due to previously enacted legislation.
Rhode Island was the only state to enact a minimum wage increase during 2017 legislative sessions.

2016 Highlights

Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington approved November ballot measures to raise their respective minimum wages. Arizona, Colorado, and Maine will incrementally increase their minimum wages to $12 an hour by 2020. Washington's will be increased incrementally to $13.50 an hour by 2020.
New York became the second state to pass a new law that would raise the minimum wage in New York City to $15 per hour by the end of 2018. Washington D.C. followed suit, enacting a law to raise the minimum wage in the District to $15 per hour by July 1, 2020.
On April 4, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 3 into law. The new law increases the minimum wage to $15 per hour by Jan. 1, 2022, for employers with 26 or more employees. For employers with 25 or fewer employees the minimum wage will reach $15 per hour by Jan. 1, 2023. Increases may be paused by the governor if certain economic or budgetary conditions exist. Beginning the first Jan. 1 after the minimum wage reaches $15 per hour for smaller employers, the minimum wage is indexed annually for inflation.
On March 23, Governor Kenneth Mapp of the Virgin Islands signed Act 7856, establishing an $8.35 minimum wage with scheduled annual increases on June 1, 2017 and 2018 until the rate reaches $10.50.
On March 2, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed SB 1532 into law. It establishes a series of annual minimum wage increases from July 1, 2016 through July 1, 2022. Beginning July 1, 2023, the minimum wage rate will be indexed to inflation based on the Consumer Price Index.
Fourteen states begin the new year with higher minimum wages. Of those, 12 states increased their rates through legislation passed in the 2014 or 2015 sessions, while two states automatically increased their rates based on the cost of living.
Of the 11 states that currently tie increases to the cost of living, eight did not increase their minimum wage rates for 2016. Colorado provided for an 8-cent increase and South Dakota granted a 5-cent increase per hour. Increases in Nevada are required to take effect in July.
Maryland, Minnesota and D.C. have additional increases scheduled for 2016. Nevada will announce in July whether or not there will be a cost of living increase to their indexed minimum wage.

2015 Highlights

The Rhode Island legislature enacted an increase, taking the state minimum wage to $9.60 effective Jan. 1, 2016. (HB 5074 / S194)
The increases D.C. and Maryland passed during the 2014 session take effect July 1, 2015. D.C.'s new wage of $10.50 an hour makes it the first jurisdiction to cross the $10 threshold among the states. Maryland's minimum wage rose to $8.25 on July 1.
Delaware also passed an increase in 2014, which took effect June 1, 2015, increasing the state's minimum wage to $8.25 an hour.

2014 highlights

Lawmakers in Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and D.C. enacted increases during the 2014 session.
Voters in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota approved minimum wage increases through ballot measures.

Currently, 29 states and D.C. have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Five states have not adopted a state minimum wage: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. New Hampshire repealed their state minimum wage in 2011 but adopted the federal minimum wage by reference.

State Legislation

Minimum wage legislation database (2014/2015/2016)
LegisBrief (February 2014)

State Minimum Wage Legislation
State	Minimum Wage	Future Enacted Increases	Indexed Automatic Annual Adjustments
Alabama	none
Alaska	$9.84		Indexed annual increases begin Jan. 1, 2017. (2014 ballot measure)
American Samoa	varies ¹
Arizona	$10.50	$11.00 eff. 1-1-19 $12.00 eff. 1-1-20	Rate increased annually based on cost of living beginning Jan. 2021 (2016 ballot measure)
Arkansas	$8.50
California²	$11.00	$12.00 eff. 1-1-19 $13.00 eff. 1-1-20 $14.00 eff. 1-1-21 $15.00 eff. 1-1-22	Indexed annual increases based on CPI begin Jan. 1, 2023
Colorado	$10.20	$11.10 eff. 1-1-19 $12.00 eff. 1-1-20	Rate increased annually based on cost of living beginning Jan. 1 2021 (2016 ballot measure)
Connecticut	$10.10³
Delaware	$8.25
D.C.	$12.50	$13.25 eff. 7-1-18 $14.00 eff. 7-1-19 $15.00 eff. 7-1-20	Indexed annual increases based on CPI begin July 1, 2021
Florida	$8.25		Annual increase based cost of living. (Constitutional amendment 2004)
Georgia	$5.15
Guam	$8.25
Hawaii	$10.10
Idaho	$7.25
Illinois	$8.25
Indiana	$7.25
Iowa	$7.25
Kansas	$7.25
Kentucky	$7.25
Louisiana	none
Maine	$10.00 ⁴	$11.00 eff. 1-1-19 $12.00 eff. 1-1-20	Indexed annual increases based on CPI begin Jan 1, 2021
Maryland	$9.25	$10.10 eff. 7-1-18
Massachusetts	$11.00 ⁵
Michigan	$9.25		Annual increases take effect Jan. 1, 2019, linked to the CPI. Increases not to exceed 3.5%. (2014 Legislation)
Minnesota	$9.65/$7.87 ⁶		Indexed annual increases begin Jan. 1, 2018. (2014 legislation)
Mississippi	none
Missouri	$7.85 ⁷		Minimum wage increased or decreased by cost of living starting Jan. 1, 2008. (2006 ballot measure)
Montana	$8.30/$4.00 ⁸		Increases done annually based on the CPI and effective Jan. 1 of the following year. (2006 ballot measure)
Nebraska	$9.00
Nevada	$8.25/$7.25 ⁹		Increases subject to the federal minimum wage and consumer price index. Increases take effect July 1. (Constitutional amendment 2004/2006).
New Hampshire	repealed by HB 133 (2011)
New Jersey	$8.60		Indexed annual increases based on the CPI, effective Jan. 1, 2014. (Constitutional Amendment 2013)
New Mexico	$7.50
New York	$10.40¹⁰	$11.10 eff. 12-31-18 $11.80 eff. 12-31-19 $12.50 eff. 12-31-20 After 12-31-20, the rate is adjusted annually for inflation until it reaches $15.00
North Carolina	$7.25
North Dakota	$7.25
Ohio	$8.30/$7.25¹¹		Indexed annual increases based on the CPI. (Constitutional amendment 2006)
Oklahoma	$7.25/$2.00 ¹²
Oregon	$10.25¹³	$10.75 eff. 7-1-18 $11.25 eff. 7-1-19 $12.00 eff. 7-1-20 $12.75 eff. 7-1-21 $13.50 eff. 7-1-22	Indexed annual increases based on the CPI are effective July 1, 2023 (2016 legislation)
Pennsylvania	$7.25
Puerto Rico	$7.25/$5.08 ¹⁴
Rhode Island	$10.10	$10.50 eff. 1-1-19
South Carolina	none
South Dakota	$8.85		Annual indexed increases begin Jan. 1, 2016. (2014 ballot measure.)
Tennessee	none
Texas	$7.25
Utah	$7.25
Vermont	$10.50		Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, minimum wage increased annually by 5% or the CPI, whichever is smaller; it cannot decrease. Note: Vermont started indexing in 2007 but enacted additional increases in 2014. (2014 legislation)
Virgin Islands	$9.50	$10.50 eff. 6-1-18
Virginia	$7.25
Washington	$11.50	$12.00 eff. 1-1-2019 $13.50 eff. 1-1-2020	Annual indexed increases began Jan. 1, 2020. (ballot measure 2016)
West Virginia	$8.75
Wisconsin	$7.25
Wyoming	$5.15

Sources: U.S. Dept. of Labor, http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm; and state web sites.

Notes

¹ American Samoa: The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-28) sets minimum wage rates within American Samoa and provides for additional increases in the minimum wage of $0.50 per hour each year on May 25, until reaching the minimum wage generally applicable in the United States. The wage rates are set for particular industries, not for an employee's particular occupation. The rates are minimum rates; an employer may choose to pay an employee at a rate higher than the rate(s) for its industry.

²California: The minimum wage scheduled increases are delayed by one year for employers with 25 or fewer employees. The rate increases to $10.50 per hour effective 1/1/2018 and is increased by $1.00 increments annually until it reaches $15.00 effective 1/1/2023

³ Connecticut: The Connecticut minimum wage rate automatically increases to 1/2 of 1 percent above the rate set in the Fair Labor Standards Act if the Federal minimum wage rate equals or becomes higher than the State minimum.

⁴ The Maine minimum wage is automatically replaced with the Federal minimum wage rate if it is higher than the State minimum.

⁵ The Massachusetts minimum wage rate automatically increases to 10 cents above the rate set in the Fair Labor Standards Act if the Federal minimum wage equals or becomes higher than the State minimum.

⁶ Minnesota: With the passage of H.B. 2091 (2014), the annual sales volume threshold was reduced to $500,000. For large employers, with an annual sales volume of $500,000 or more, the minimum wage is currently $9.50; for small employers, those with an annual sales volume of less than $500,000, the minimum wage is $7.75.

⁷ Missouri - In addition to the exemption for federally covered employment, the law exempts, among others, employees of a retail or service business with gross annual sales or business done of less than $500,000.

⁸ Montana: the $4.00 rate applies to businesses with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less; $8.15 applies to all others.

⁹ Nevada: $8.25 without health benefits; $7.25 with health benefits.

¹⁰New York: The new minimum wage varies across the state based on geographical location and, in New York City, employer size.

New York Minimum Wage
Year	NYC Large Employers (11 or more employees)	NYC Small Employers (10 or fewer employees)	Ny Downstate (Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties)
12/31/2017	$13.00	$12.00	$11.00
12/31/2018	$15.00	$13.50	$12.00
12/31/2019	--	$15.00	$13.00
12/31/2020	--	--	$14.00
12/31/2021	--	--	$15.00

¹¹Ohio: $7:25 for employers grossing $299,000 or less

¹² Oklahoma: Employers of ten or more full time employees at any one location and employers with annual gross sales over $100,000 irrespective of number of full time employees are subject to federal minimum wage; all others are subject to state minimum wage of $2.00 (OK ST T. 40 § 197.5).

¹³ Oregon: In addition to the new standard minimum wage rate, SB 1532 sets out a higher rate for employers located in the urban growth boundary, and a lower rate for employers located in nonurban counties. Their respective planned increases are below.

Oregon Minimum Wage
Year	Portland Metro	Nonurban Counties
7/1/2016	$9.75	$9.50
7/1/2017	$11.25	$10.00
7/1/2018	$12.00	$10.50
7/1/2019	$12.50	$11.00
7/1/2020	$13.25	$11.50
7/1/2021	$14.00	$12.00
7/1/2022	$14.75	$12.50
7/1/2023	$1.25 over standard min. wage	$1 below standard min. wage

¹⁴ Puerto Rico: Employers covered by the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are subject to the Federal minimum wage of $7.25. Employers not covered by the FLSA will be subject to a minimum wage that is at least 70 percent of the Federal minimum wage or the applicable mandatory decree rate of $5.08, whichever is higher. The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources may authorize a rate based on a lower percentage for any employer who can show that implementation of the 70 percent rate would substantially curtail employment in that business.

Other Exceptions

Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Puerto Rico, Utah, and Virginia exclude from coverage any employment that is subject to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
Hawaii, Kansas, and Michigan exclude from coverage any employment that is subject to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, if the State wage is higher than the Federal wage.
The Georgia state minimum wage is $5.15. Employees covered under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act are subject to the federal minimum wage of $7.25, but those not covered under the FLSA may be paid the state minimum wage of $5.15.

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