Federal minimum wage increases have happened 23 times since the rate was created in 1938, most recently in 2009. Here's every increase in order, the pattern behind them, and why the current gap is the longest in the law's history.
The Complete Federal Minimum Wage Increases Timeline
- 1938: $0.25/hr, established by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- 1939: $0.30/hr
- 1945: $0.40/hr
- 1950: $0.75/hr
- 1956: $1.00/hr
- 1961: $1.15/hr
- 1963: $1.25/hr
- 1967: $1.40/hr
- 1968: $1.60/hr
- 1974: $2.00/hr
- 1975: $2.10/hr
- 1976: $2.30/hr
- 1978: $2.65/hr
- 1979: $2.90/hr
- 1980: $3.10/hr
- 1981: $3.35/hr
- 1990: $3.80/hr
- 1991: $4.25/hr
- 1996: $4.75/hr
- 1997: $5.15/hr
- 2007: $5.85/hr
- 2008: $6.55/hr
- 2009: $7.25/hr, the current rate, effective July 24, 2009
The Fair Labor Standards Act, signed in 1938, was the first federal law to establish a minimum wage in the United States, alongside overtime pay and child labor restrictions.
What Pattern Do Federal Minimum Wage Increases Follow?
Nearly every increase came in a multi-step sequence passed by a single act of Congress, then phased in over one to three years rather than jumping straight to the new rate. The 2007-2009 increases are a good example: Congress passed one law in 2007 that raised the rate in three annual steps, $5.85 in 2007, $6.55 in 2008, and $7.25 in 2009, rather than all at once. The 1990-1991 and 1996-1997 increases followed the same two-step pattern.
How Often Has the Federal Rate Historically Changed?
Since 1938, the federal minimum wage has gone an average of roughly 4 years between increases. The current gap, from 2009 to 2026, is by far the longest in the law's history at over 16 years, more than four times the historical average. The next-longest gap before this one was the freeze from 1981 to 1990, just under 9 years.
Which Increases Were the Biggest?
In percentage terms, some of the earliest increases were the largest relative to the existing rate: the jump from $0.25/hr to $0.30/hr in 1939 was a 20% increase in a single step. In dollar terms, the 1990 and 1991 increases (from $3.35/hr to $4.25/hr combined) and the 2007-2009 increases (from $5.15/hr to $7.25/hr combined) rank among the largest total increases in the law's history.
How to Use This Timeline for Research
Each entry above lists the exact effective date and rate as set by the relevant amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, useful for calculating what a specific historical wage was worth at a given point in time, or for identifying which Congressional session passed a particular increase. Combined with our purchasing-power analysis, which tracks how much value the current $7.25/hr rate has lost since 2009, this timeline gives the full nominal history of the federal wage floor from its creation to today.
Does the Exempt Salary Threshold Follow the Same Pattern?
No. The federal exempt salary threshold, the minimum salary required for the FLSA's white-collar overtime exemption, is set through separate Department of Labor rulemaking rather than the same statutory amendments that raise the hourly minimum wage. That's why the exempt threshold can change independently of, and on a different schedule than, the federal minimum wage itself. See our exempt salary threshold guide for the current figure.
How This Timeline Relates to State Minimum Wage Increases
Every entry above reflects only the federal rate. State minimum wage law moves on an entirely separate track, and most states have raised their own rate far more recently and far more often than the federal timeline shows, since state legislatures and CPI-indexing laws aren't bound by the same Congressional process. See our list of every state that raised its minimum wage in 2026 alone for a direct comparison to how static the federal side of this timeline has become.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many times has the federal minimum wage increased?
23 times since the Fair Labor Standards Act created it in 1938, most recently in 2009.
What was the first federal minimum wage?
$0.25 per hour, established by the original 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act.
When was the last federal minimum wage increase?
July 24, 2009, when the rate reached its current level of $7.25/hr, the final step of a three-part increase passed by Congress in 2007.
Why hasn't the federal minimum wage increased since 2009?
No new federal law raising it has passed Congress since 2007. See our full explanation of why the federal rate has stayed flat.
For the purchasing power this flat $7.25/hr rate has lost to inflation since 2009, see our full minimum wage history page. For the current federal rate and FLSA rules, see our federal minimum wage guide. For official records, see the US Department of Labor's federal minimum wage history chart.