While the federal minimum wage has remained $7.25 per hour since 2009, states and cities across the country have been raising their minimum wages to ensure their residents can make a more sustainable living.
On Jan. 1, 21 states raised their minimums, including Alaska, which now has a minimum of $11.91 per hour; Connecticut, which now has a minimum of $16.35 per hour; and Nebraska, which now has a minimum of $13.50 per hour.
Cities and counties have been slowly raising their minimum wages as well — sometimes considerably higher than their state's. The Economic Policy Institute has been documenting some of the more local wage floors.
Here are the localities with the highest minimum wages according to EPI — they're all in Washington (where the minimum wage is $16.66) and California (where the minimum wage is $16.50). All minimums are close to or over $20 per hour. Some localities have different wage tiers depending on the size of the company.
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Tukwila, WA: $21.10
Renton, WA: $20.90
Seattle, WA: $20.76
Money Report
King County, WA: $20.29
SeaTac, WA: $20.17
Burien, WA: $19.66
West Hollywood, CA: $19.65
Emeryville, CA: $19.36
Mountain View, CA: $19.20
Sunnyvale, CA: $19
Other localities around the country are getting close to that $20 mark. Denver, Colorado, currently has a minimum of $18.81 per hour, for example, and Flagstaff, Arizona, has a minimum of $17.85. Altogether, 67 localities have adopted minimum wages higher than their state's, according to EPI.
Many places also raise their wage floors later in the year, so the U.S. is bound to see even more localities getting closer to $20 per hour by the end of 2025.
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