State and Local Minimum Wage Hikes Kick In Around U.S.

Minimum wage workers got a pay bump beginning Monday in Washington, D.C., Nevada and Oregon, as well as in some cities and counties across the U.S.

In Washington, D.C., minimum wage workers are set to earn $17.50 per hour, an increase of 50 cents. It’s higher than any state-level minimum wage in the nation and $10.25 more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The D.C. minimum wage is increased annually on July 1 and is set based on inflation growth, usually tied to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, or CPI.

Most states set their minimum wages above the federal minimum wage, which hasn’t increased since 2009 even as prices for goods and services have skyrocketed.

Nevada’s minimum wage is now $12, an increase of $1.75. Before July 1, businesses that provided health insurance could pay a wage that was $1 below the state minimum, but that practice has now ended.

Oregon, like D.C., sets the minimum wage according to inflation growth. But the amount that minimum wage workers earn varies by region. Minimum wages increased by 50 cents, or about 3%, in each of the three areas:

• Non-urban rural areas of southern, central and eastern Oregon:  $13.70.

• Willamette Valley and Oregon coast counties: $14.70.

• Portland: $15.95.

Local minimum wage increases

New minimum wages also went into effect in cities and counties throughout the U.S.

California:

• Alameda City: $17.

• Berkeley: $18.67.

• Emeryville: $19.36.

• Fremont: $17.30.

• Los Angeles: $17.28.

• Los Angeles County (unincorporated): $17.27.

• Malibu: $17.27.

• Milpitas: $17.70.

• Pasadena: $17.50.

• San Francisco: $18.67.

• Santa Monica: $17.27.

In addition, Los Angeles hotel workers are set to receive a minimum of $20.32.

Illinois:

• Chicago: $16.20.

• Cook County: $14.05 for non-tipped workers. 

Maryland:

• Montgomery County (10 or fewer employees): $15.

• Montgomery County (11 to 50 employees): $15.50.

• Montgomery County (51 or more employees): $17.15.

Minnesota:

• Minneapolis: $15.57.

• St. Paul (5 employees or fewer): $12.25.

• St. Paul (6 to 100 employees): $14.

• St. Paul (101 to 10,000 employees): $15.57.

Washington:

• Renton (large employers 500 or more employees worldwide): $20.29.

The following wages apply only to mid-sized employers (15 to 500 employees worldwide) or those with under 15 employees, but with over $2 million in gross revenue: