In January, minimum wage employees in two dozen states will receive an increase. Later in 2023, three other states and the District of Columbia will follow suit.
Three states will increase their minimum wage to at least $15, joining California, the District of Columbia, and a few of municipalities that have already enforced the desired amount. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has been in effect since the summer of 2009.
US States Minimum Wage 2023
While the federal minimum wage has remained at its present level, almost two dozen states and the District of Columbia have raised their own minimum wage since 2014. In addition, 46 municipalities around the country force firms to pay their employees over the federal minimum wage.
Recent legislation was approved in Nebraska, Nevada, and the District of Columbia. In November, Nebraska voters adopted a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026. Nevada will raise its minimum wage to $12 for all workers, regardless of whether or not they have qualified health insurance, therefore eliminating its two-tier structure.
By 2027, the legislation in Washington, D.C. will raise the minimum wage for tipped employees to $16.10 per hour, from the present minimum wage of $5.35 per hour, and eliminate the tip credit. Here's the complete list of states that will implement a minimum wage hike in 2023, according to AS.com:
| State | 2022 | 2023 | Effective |
| Alaska | $10.34 | $10.85 | 1 January 2023 |
| Arizona | $12.80 | $13.85 | 1 January 2023 |
| California | $15.00 | $15.50 | 1 January 2023 |
| Colorado | $12.56 | $13.65 | 1 January 2023 |
| Connecticut | $14.00 | $15.00 | 1 June 2023 |
| Delaware | $10.50 | $11.75 | 1 January 2023 |
| District of Columbia | $16.10 | N/A | 1 July 2023 |
| Florida | $11.00 | $12.00 | 30 September 2023 |
| Illinois | $12.00 | $13.00 | 1 January 2023 |
| Maine | $12.75 | $13.80 | 1 January 2023 |
| Maryland | $12.50 | $13.25 | 1 January 2023 |
| Massachusetts | $14.25 | $15.00 | 1 January 2023 |
| Michigan* | $9.87 | See below | 1 January 2023 |
| Minnesota | $10.33 | $10.59 | 1 January 2023 |
| Missouri | $11.15 | $12.00 | 1 January 2023 |
| Montana | $9.20 | $9.95 | 1 January 2023 |
| Nebraska | $9.00 | $10.50 | 1 January 2023 |
| Nevada | $10.50 | $12.00 | 1 January 2023 |
| New Jersey | $13.00 | $14.13 | 1 January 2023 |
| New Mexico | $11.50 | $12.00 | 1 January 2023 |
| New York (NYC,LI,W /Upstate) | $15.00/13.20 | $15.00/14.20 | 31 December 2022 |
| Ohio | $9.30 | $10.10 | 1 January 2023 |
| Oregon | $13.50 | N/A | 1 July 2023 |
| Rhode Island | $12.25 | $13.00 | 1 January 2023 |
| South Dakota | $9.95 | $10.80 | 1 January 2023 |
| Vermont | $12.55 | $13.18 | 1 January 2023 |
| Virginia | $11.00 | $12.00 | 1 January 2023 |
| Washington | $14.49 | $15.74 | 1 January 2023 |
Due to the antics of the state legislature, Michigan is a bit tricky. The minimum wage will increase to $10.10 per hour at the start of the year. However, depending on the outcome of an appeal to a ruling that the state's minimum wage legislation modifications were unconstitutional.
If sustained, the minimum wage for non-tipped workers may increase to $13.03 by the end of 2023. And $11.73 per hour, up from $3.75, for tipped employees, whose hourly salary will increase to $3.84 on 1 January 2023. A ruling is anticipated in January, although a stay is in effect until February 19, 2023.
The pandemic also caused a structural shift in the nation's labor market, resulting in a persistent mismatch between worker supply and demand. Employers have struggled to find and keep employees for the most of the year, which has led to an increase in the average annual hourly salary.
While certain workers in competitive areas such as retail and dining have seen their pay increase faster than inflation, this is not the case for the vast majority, as per CNN.
The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has been unchanged since 2009, while twenty states have minimum wages that are either equal to or lower than the federal level, making $7.25 their default baseline.
The federal minimum wage reached its highest value in 1968, when it was $1.60, which would be equivalent to around $13.46 in 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator.
Lowest Minimum Wage in US
What should be done about the minimum wage in the United States has been a subject of heated debate for decades. It has remained at $7.25 per hour since 2009, an unlivable wage for Americans in a period of exceptionally high inflation.
According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), minimum wage workers have the same buying power as those in the 1950s.
President Biden had advocated for a $15 minimum wage in 2020, but there has been little progress on the topic. While the federal minimum wage has remained at its present level, almost two dozen states and the District of Columbia have raised their own minimum wage since 2014.
There are now little over a half dozen states with an hourly minimum wage more than $13.00. In 2023, including the District of Columbia, this number will climb to at least 14 through indexing and planned increases. The majority of these are in the Northeast and on the West Coast.
However, none of the states with the lowest minimum wage of $7.25 will change their minimum wage rates in 2023.
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- New Hampshire
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Per AS.com, five states lack a state minimum wage and instead utilize the federal minimum. These five states are Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
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