Nineteen States Raise Their Minimum Wage as the New Year Begins

Nineteen states raised their minimum wages on January 1, with three more states and Washington, DC, set to implement further increases later in the year. The states with January increases include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

Washington state now has the highest minimum wage in the country at $17.13 an hour. New York's wage rose to $17.00 in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties, and $16.00 for the rest of the state, while California's minimum climbed to $16.90 and Connecticut's rose to $16.94.

Hawaii recorded the single largest jump of the year, raising its minimum wage by a full $2 an hour to $16.00, part of a multi-year phased increase the state legislature approved several years ago. Florida, Alaska, and Oregon are scheduled to implement their own increases later in 2026.

Business groups in several of the affected states have warned the increases could accelerate automation adoption in retail and food service, while labor advocates argue the raises are overdue given years of inflation that outpaced wage growth for many low-wage workers.