23 U.S. States To Increase Minimum Wage To $15 Per Hour— Check To See If Yours Is On The List!

There are 23 states the American workers can look forward to an increase in the minimum wage of up to $15 per hour, says Davidson. Check the list to see if your state is one of them!

U.S. Workers On Raising Minimum Wage

According to Davidson, there are 23 states and 41 cities and counties that are set to increase their minimum wages on or before January 1 next year. Two of these states, Massachusetts and Washington, will aim to achieve a $15 hourly minimum wage. The states of California and most of New York have already achieved it for the first time. 24 localities in California, along with Denver, Minneapolis, and Seattle are also already paying a $15 minimum wage to their workers. However, these states are still set to increase more in less than two weeks.

 In July 2023, Connecticut will also increase its minimum wage from $14 to $15. Also later that year, another 4 states and 18 cities and counties will also increase their minimum wage. By 2026, an additional 8 states– Nebraska, Virginia, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Florida, and Delaware will also experience an increase. Hawaii will also join these states by 2028.

How Inflation Affects Minimum Wages

Davidson says that minimum wages depend on annual inflation. Since inflation has averaged 1% to 2% for the past couple of years, most U.S. states increase their minimum wage only by small amounts such as 20 to 50 cents per hour. National Employment Law Project’s senior researcher and policy analyst Yannet Lathrop says that instead of providing workers with cash bonanzas, the increase to the hourly minimum wages is simply to allow them to maintain a living standard despite the rising costs of living.