Here’s where the minimum wage is going up in 2026
by Andrew Dorn - 12/10/25 7:22 AM ET
19 states are raising the minimum wage Jan. 1
Dozens of cities and counties are enacting hikes of their own
Here's where minimum wages are going up in 2026
Americans are feeling the strain of rising living costs, but millions of workers will start the new year with some relief as higher minimum wages take effect.
Workers in 19 states and 49 cities and counties will see the minimum wage increase Jan. 1, according to a new report from the National Employment Law Project (NELP), a nonprofit worker advocacy group. Another four states and 22 localities are set to raise their wage floors later in the year.
“Policies increasing the minimum wage have been a lifeline for underpaid workers who have been the most impacted by a growing affordability crisis,” Yannet Lathrop, a senior researcher and policy analyst at NELP, wrote in the report.
The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour since 2009 — an extended freeze that has pushed states and cities to set their own standards.
As of this year, 30 states plus Washington, D.C., have minimum wages above the federal level, including Democratic strongholds like California, Oregon and Washington and traditionally conservative states like Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota.
In total, 88 jurisdictions — 22 states and 66 cities and counties — will raise their wage floor at some point in 2026, NELP found.
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5641510-minimum-wage-increasing-states-2026/
