Increases range from 28 cents in Minnesota to $2 in Hawaii, with an average rise of 67 cents across all 19 states. More than 8.3 million workers will benefit from the increases according to Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The average minimum wage in those 19 states will rise to $14.57 in 2026, up from $13.90 this year.
Three other states – Alaska, Florida and Oregon – as well as Washington, D.C., are scheduled to raise their minimum wages later in 2026.
In addition to the government increases, about 50 provinces and municipalities plan to raise the minimum wage next year. according to National Employment Law Project (NELP). These cities include San Diego, California — where the minimum wage for hospitality workers is set to rise to $25 an hour by 2030 — and Portland, Maine, where all workers will earn at least $19 by 2028.
However, the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25, and the minimum tipped rate for tipped workers is $2.13, the same level it has been at since 1991, and it has lost more than half its purchasing power since then.
“Tiped workers can still legally receive wages as low as $2.13 per hour, a system advocates call a direct legacy of slavery,” the advocacy group One Fair Wage (OFW) said in a statement Tuesday.
Sanders (I-Vt.) He said On social media on the eve of the increases: “Congratulations to the 19 states that raised their minimum wage in 2026. But let’s be clear: The $7.25 federal minimum wage is a national disgrace. No one working full time should live in poverty. We must continue the fight to ensure a living wage for all workers — not starvation wages.”
Yanet Lathrop, senior researcher and policy analyst at NELP, He said Earlier this month, “The upcoming minimum wage increases are gradual and will not magically turn low-wage jobs into living-wage jobs, but they do offer a little relief at a time when every dollar matters to people.”
“The bigger picture is that raising the minimum wage is just one part of a much larger fight for a good jobs economy rooted in living wages and good benefits for every working person,” Lathrop added. “This is where we need to get to.”
Many experts point out that neither $7.25, nor even $15 per hour, is a livable wage anywhere in the United States.
“The gap between wages and the real cost of living is stark,” the OFW said. “according to According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, there is no county in the United States where a worker can meet their basic needs for less than $25 an hour. Even in the nation’s least expensive counties, a worker with one child would need at least $33 an hour to cover basics like rent, food, childcare and transportation.
“Advocates say policies are like the president [Donald] “Trump’s ‘no tax on tips’ proposal fails to address the fundamental problem of poverty wages,” OFW continued. “Although this policy has drawn attention, they say it is a headline rather than a solution, especially since nearly two-thirds of tipped workers do not earn enough to pay federal income taxes.”
Frustrated by the long-unchanged $7.25 federal minimum wage, many states in recent years have allowed voters to give themselves raises through ballot initiatives. Such measures have been successful even in some red states, including Missouri and Nebraska.
The higher minimum wage is a legacy of the union-backed #FightFor15 movement that began among striking fast food workers in 2012. Now the minimum wage in at least 20 states is $15 or more.
However, at the time, “the purchasing power of a $15 minimum wage was much higher than it is today,” according to EPI. male. “In 2025, a $15 minimum wage will not achieve economic security for workers in most parts of the country. This is especially true in cities with a high cost of living.”
In April, U.S. Sens They voted against the amendment This would raise the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour. Every Democratic and independent lawmaker in the Senate voted for the measure, while all Republicans except Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) rejected it.
As policies and practices of the Trump administration and Republicans — such as the passage of health care legislation that does not include an extension of the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits, which is set to expire Wednesday and results in higher premiums — along with ever-higher costs of living, squeeze workers, advocates say a living wage is more important than ever.
This problem has been underscored by stark income and wealth inequality in the United States, as well as a roughly 285:1 CEO-worker pay gap among S&P 500 companies last year.
“The minimum wage does not cover the cost of living,” Janie Van De Kirk, an organizer with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Airport Workers Union and an employee at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, said in a statement. video She posted on social media on Tuesday.
“Many of my coworkers are having to choose between food on the table or health insurance, or choosing between getting food and paying the electric bill,” continued Van de Kirk — who advocates for a $25-an-hour minimum wage.
“We shouldn’t worry about these things,” she added. “We shouldn’t stress about these things. We are willing to work, we want to work, and we should get paid for our work.”
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