Ask most Americans if their hourly pay keeps pace with the cost of living and you’ll get a range of answers — from grateful to raging. This year, a patchwork of state and local governments moved to narrow that gap: dozens of jurisdictions raised their minimum wages in 2026 while others left the federal floor untouched.
Two quick numbers to frame this: advocates counted roughly 88 jurisdictions — about two dozen states plus many cities and counties — set to lift their wage floors sometime in 2026. At the same time, the federal minimum wage remains $7.25 an hour, unchanged since 2009. The result is a country where where you live can more than double what an entry-level hourly worker legally earns.
A patchwork of increases
Most of the big changes took effect Jan. 1, 2026. Some highlights:
- New York: $17.00 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County; $16.00 for the rest of the state. The state also tied future increases to a regional inflation measure starting in 2027.
- Washington State: $17.13
- California: $16.90
- Connecticut: $16.94
- New Jersey: $15.92
- Rhode Island and Hawaii: $16.00
- Arizona: $15.15
- Colorado: $15.16
- Maine: $15.10
- Missouri and Nebraska: $15.00
- Vermont: $14.42
- Check local rules. Many cities and counties set their own minimums above state levels. If you’re an employer or an employee, local government websites are the authoritative source.
- Watch phased indexing. Some states are now tying future increases to inflation or regional cost measures. That can smooth changes but also lock in periodic raises.
- Expect more variation. With the federal floor unchanged, state and municipal policy will keep producing divergent pay landscapes.
Several other states raised their floors but to more modest levels: Michigan moved to about $13.73, Minnesota to roughly $11.41, Ohio to $11.00 and South Dakota to $11.85. Montana rose to $10.85; Virginia crept up to $12.77. In some states the increases are regionally variable — Oregon’s 2026 floor, for example, ranges from roughly $14.05 to $16.30 depending on locality.
A handful of states have scheduled increases that will take effect later in 2026: Alaska’s minimum is expected to reach $14, and Florida’s will hit $15, among others.
Where wages didn’t change
Not every state raised the floor. Several states already had minimums above the federal level but did not increase them in 2026 (for example, Arkansas at $11 and Delaware, Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts at $15). Many states continue to use the federal $7.25 baseline; in practice that means workers in places like Texas, Alabama and several other states often earn a federally set wage unless local laws say otherwise.
That divergence helps explain why someone working the same job can take home very different pay checks depending on city and state policy.
Why this matters — and why it’s messy
Lawmakers and voters who supported higher minimums framed the moves as a response to years of squeezed household budgets and the lingering effects of recent inflation spikes. For low-wage workers — think retail staff, food-service workers, home aides — a jump from $7.25 or $10 an hour to $15 or more can be life-changing, shifting choices about childcare, housing and debt.
But there are trade-offs. Businesses that rely on low-margin labor say higher mandated wages force tough decisions: cut hours, raise prices, reduce hiring, or automate. Economists debate how large those effects are and whether they vary by industry or region. The real-world impacts tend to differ between big coastal cities and smaller rural communities.
New York’s example is instructive: the state didn’t just raise hourly pay. Its 2026 budget also included broader affordability measures — expanded child tax credits, middle-class tax cuts and other programs intended to offset cost pressures for families — showing how wage policy often comes tied to wider fiscal choices.
What workers and employers should watch
For many Americans the story of 2026 isn’t a single nationwide raise but a map of contrasts: pockets of substantial increases, broad swaths where pay stayed the same, and a continuing tug-of-war over how best to boost household incomes without crippling local businesses.
If you want to dig deeper into how specific states moved this year, look up your state labor or department of commerce for official rates and the schedule of future increases. And if you live in a state where the federal minimum still applies, keep an eye on local ballot measures — in recent years many wage changes have arrived at the ballot box rather than through the legislature.
Policy-driven pay shifts like these won’t solve every problem tied to affordability, but for the people whose hours and paychecks changed on Jan. 1, the difference can be immediate and real.