Minimum wages rise in at least 14 states on January 1, and Washington’s goes highest at $17.73 an hour, up 60 cents from $17.13 this year. Michigan, Rhode Island and Virginia add between 98 cents and $1.27 an hour, the biggest jumps on the list. The rest are inflation adjustments of 26 to 60 cents.
The 14 states and their new rates
Four states land above $17. Washington moves to $17.73, which its Department of Labor & Industries confirms in its 2027 minimum wage notice. Connecticut goes from $16.94 to $17.48, California from $16.90 to $17.40 and Rhode Island from $16.00 to $17.00.
Five more fall between $15 and $17. New Jersey rises to $16.48 from $15.92, Colorado to $15.71 from $15.16 and Maine to $15.70 from $15.10. Nebraska goes to $15.26 from $15.00, and Michigan reaches $15.00 from $13.73. The 2026 starting points come from the U.S. Labor Department’s state minimum wage table.
The other five stay below $15. Virginia moves to $13.75 from $12.77, South Dakota to $12.30 from $11.85, Minnesota to $11.87 from $11.41, Ohio to $11.40 from $11.00 and Montana to $11.20 from $10.85. Together with the nine above, that makes 14 states with a higher statewide rate on January 1, 2027.
Arizona is not in those 14 but is moving too. KTAR reported in September that its rate rises 50 cents to $15.65 on January 1, which would make the count at least 15. New York, by contrast, gets no inflation increase for 2027, and its state labor department lists $17.00 for New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $16.00 elsewhere.
What changed this year: Social Security and Medicare change every year, and nobody sends you a memo. The Retirement Money Brief breaks down what changed and what to do.
Get the Retirement Money Brief →
We may earn a commission from links on this page.
Anyone earning near the floor in one of these states will see the change in the first paycheck covering January work. A full-time worker at 2,080 hours a year gains about $2,640 in Michigan at the $1.27 jump, and about $1,250 in Washington at 60 cents.
Why Michigan, Rhode Island and Virginia jump by a dollar
Those three are following schedules written into law rather than yearly inflation formulas. Michigan’s Senate Bill 8, effective in February 2025, steps the wage up to $15.00 by 2027, and the state labor department says the rate is $15.00 on January 1, 2027. Rhode Island’s labor department lists $17.00 commencing that day.
Virginia’s code sets the 2027 minimum at the greater of $13.75 an hour or the federal rate, with $15.00 set for 2028. The Virginia labor department’s own page gives $13.75 for January 1, 2027, up 98 cents from this year’s $12.77.
The inflation-indexed states use different yardsticks. Connecticut ties its rate to the federal employment cost index, which rose 3.2% over the 12 months ending June 30, State Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo said. Colorado uses the consumer price index for all urban consumers, which produced a 3.6% increase from $15.16.
New Jersey follows Bureau of Labor Statistics price data under its constitution. Acting Labor Commissioner Kevin D. Jarvis said in the state’s September 29 announcement, “Fair wages are the foundation of a strong economy.” Ohio announced a 3.5% increase the next day.
Tipped workers, teens and cities
Tipped wages move too. Ohio’s announcement sets $11.40 for non-tipped employees and $5.70 for tipped employees, and applies to businesses with annual gross receipts above $419,000, up from $405,000. Colorado’s tipped rate rises to $12.69, and South Dakota’s to $6.15.
New Jersey raises its minimum cash wage for tipped workers to $6.61 from $6.05, while capping the tip credit at $9.87. Seasonal workers and employers with fewer than six employees move to $16.25, from $15.23, and agricultural workers to $15.00 from $14.20.
Younger workers have their own floors. Washington sets $15.07 an hour for 14- and 15-year-olds in 2027, tied to the rule that their pay cannot fall below 85% of the adult minimum. Rhode Island lets employers pay full-time students under 19 90% of the minimum.
Cities can sit well above the state number. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment notes that Denver announced $19.84 an hour for 2027, and that other localities set their own rates by ordinance, so a worker in a big city may already be above the statewide figure.
California’s argument and the other calendars
California’s $17.40 comes with the loudest political pitch. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the rate puts working families first, adding that “if you work hard, you deserve a decent paycheck.” He set it against the $7.25 federal floor: “They think $7.25 an hour is enough. We don’t.”
Some states raise on other dates. Alaska reached $14.00 on July 1, 2026, and is scheduled to reach $15.00 on July 1, 2027. Washington, D.C., which is not a state, adjusts each July. Missouri’s labor department lists $15.00 for 2026 and posts no 2027 figure.
For households near the floor, a raise changes more than a paycheck. Programs with income limits count wages, so a higher hourly rate can move a household closer to, or past, a cutoff that was fixed by a different formula.
Will the January raise change benefit eligibility?
A higher hourly wage raises household income on paper, and several benefit programs measure eligibility against fixed income limits, so a raise taken in January can change what a household qualifies for before anyone notices.
The Benefits Checklist is a downloadable guide that scans 11 benefit programs retirees most often miss, lists the 2026 income limits for each, and includes a 50-state phone directory and a printable application tracker, so the comparison starts from the real numbers.
Compare January income with 11 programs’ 2026 limits in this checklist →
More Financial Reading
- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 15 Ways Retirees Are Tapping a Record $14.9 Trillion in Home Equity
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
