The minimum wage will go up in many states this year, though not at game-changing levels. In most states, the increase ranges between 30 and 50 cents per hour. The exceptions are Nebraska ($1.50), Hawaii ($2.00) and Rhode Island ($1.00).
The idea of establishing a minimum wage arose in the aftermath of the Great Depression. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act set the minimum hourly wage at 25 cents. The night before the bill was signed, President Franklin Roosevelt dismissed concerns that paying workers $11 a week would have “a disastrous effect on all American industry.”
States have authority to set their own standards, and the majority (30) have state minimum wages higher than the federal minimum. Nearly 30 states have laws that pre-empt local governments from setting minimum wages above the state level. These include all but one of the states (New Hampshire) where the minimum wage remains at $7.25, the federal level set in 2009.
Minimum wage isn’t the same as “prevailing wage.” Only about 1 percent of hourly workers are paid the federal minimum of $7.25. Still, this means nearly 900,000 Americans who work full time are below the poverty level.
Average weekly wages grew faster than inflation between 2024 and 2025, but nearly half of all Americans don’t earn enough to meet basic needs and have enough left over to ensure financial stability and quality of life. (A “living wage.”)
Washington state’s $17.13 is among the highest state-level minimums. But according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, a living wage for a single adult living in the state is $26.36.
State-level increases suggest that affordability is being taken seriously. Pressure to do more could increase in a year where labor demand is expected to decrease, limiting the need for employers to offer higher wages to fill jobs.
