Minimum wage increases hit 20 states in 2026, ranging from a 2.8% cost-of-living bump in Ohio to a full $1.25/hr jump in Missouri. Here's every state that raised its rate this year, with the exact numbers and why so many landed the same year.
Which States Had Minimum Wage Increases in 2026?
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia all increased their minimum wage in 2026. That's 20 of the 50 states, plus most of their local jurisdictions, raising pay for millions of workers in a single year.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, states and cities are free to set a minimum wage above the federal floor of $7.25/hr, and employers must pay the highest rate that legally applies to a given work location.
State-by-State 2026 Minimum Wage Increases
- Alaska: increased to $13.00/hr on July 1, 2026. No tip credit, tipped employees earn the full state rate.
- Arizona: raised to $15.15/hr on January 1, 2026. Flagstaff and Tucson have higher local rates.
- California: increased to $16.90/hr on January 1, 2026. Fast food workers at chains with 60+ locations earn $20.00/hr.
- Colorado: raised to $14.81/hr on January 1, 2026.
- Florida: set to increase to $15.00/hr on September 30, 2026, as part of its constitutional phase-in (currently $14.00/hr).
- Hawaii: raised to $16.00/hr on January 1, 2026.
- Maine: raised on January 1, 2026, to $14.65/hr. Portland and Rockland have local rates.
- Michigan: raised its minimum wage on January 1, 2026 under Senate Bill 8.
- Minnesota: raised its minimum wage on January 1, 2026. No tip credit allowed.
- Missouri: rose from $13.75 to $15.00/hr effective January 1, 2026. A 2025 law (HB 567) eliminated future automatic CPI-based adjustments.
- Montana: increased from $10.55 to $10.85/hr under its annual CPI adjustment. No tip credit allowed.
- Nebraska: increased from $13.50 to $15.00/hr, completing a voter-approved phase-in schedule from 2022's Initiative 433.
- New Jersey: raised to $15.49/hr on January 1, 2026.
- New York: raised the statewide rate to $16.00/hr on January 1, 2026. NYC, Long Island, and Westchester pay $17.00/hr.
- Ohio: raised to $11.00/hr on January 1, 2026, a 2.8% increase.
- Oregon: increasing July 1, 2026. Portland metro has a higher rate. No tip credit.
- Rhode Island: rose from $15.00 to $16.00/hr on January 1, 2026, with a further increase to $17.00/hr already enacted for January 1, 2027.
- South Dakota: rose from $11.50 to $11.85/hr under the state's annual CPI adjustment.
- Vermont: rose from $14.01 to $14.42/hr under the state's CPI-indexed annual adjustment (capped at 5%).
- Virginia: raised to $12.77/hr on January 1, 2026.
Why Did So Many States Raise Their Rate at Once?
Most of these increases aren't new legislation taking effect in 2026 itself. The majority come from mechanisms states already had in place: annual cost-of-living (CPI) adjustments that many states apply automatically each January 1, and multi-year phase-in schedules from ballot initiatives or laws passed years earlier finally reaching their scheduled step. Missouri and Nebraska both completed multi-year phase-ins this year, for example, while Montana, South Dakota, and Vermont applied routine CPI indexing.
Which Increases Were the Largest?
Missouri's jump from $13.75 to $15.00/hr, a $1.25/hr increase, was among the largest dollar increases of 2026. Nebraska's move from $13.50 to $15.00/hr, a $1.50/hr jump, was even larger, reflecting the final step of a multi-year phase-in rather than a single new law. By contrast, CPI-indexed states like Ohio saw smaller, single-digit percentage increases, typical of the annual adjustments built into their state law.
Does the Federal Minimum Wage Have Increases Scheduled for 2026?
No. The federal minimum wage remains $7.25/hr, unchanged since 2009. All 20 increases listed here are state-level actions; the federal floor only changes when Congress passes new legislation, which hasn't happened since 2007. See our federal minimum wage guide for the full history.
What These Increases Mean for Annual Pay
For a full-time worker at 40 hours a week, even a modest hourly increase compounds into a meaningful annual raise. Missouri's $1.25/hr jump, from $13.75 to $15.00/hr, works out to an extra $2,600 a year (1.25 × 40 × 52) for a full-time worker at the new minimum, before any overtime or holiday pay. Nebraska's $1.50/hr increase, the largest dollar jump of the 20 states, adds roughly $3,120 a year. Even Ohio's smaller 2.8% CPI adjustment, about $0.30/hr, adds close to $624 a year for a full-time worker, which is a real difference for someone earning near the state's wage floor even though it's the smallest increase on this list.
These figures are gross, pre-tax estimates based on a standard 40-hour week and don't account for overtime, part-time schedules, or the workers in each state who already earn above the new minimum and so see no direct change from the increase itself.
Two Different Mechanisms Behind These Increases
The 20 states on this list split roughly into two groups depending on why their rate moved. The first group has an annual CPI-indexed adjustment built directly into state law, so the rate updates automatically each January without new legislation — Montana, South Dakota, and Vermont all fall into this category for 2026, along with Ohio's smaller adjustment. The second group is completing a multi-year phase-in schedule that was set in motion by a ballot initiative or law passed years earlier — Missouri and Nebraska both hit a scheduled step in a phase-in this year rather than seeing a brand-new increase. Florida's move to $15.00/hr later in 2026 follows the same phase-in pattern, tied to the state's 2020 constitutional amendment. Knowing which mechanism is driving a given state's increase helps explain why some states see small, steady bumps every year while others see a single larger jump when a phase-in finally completes.
Do These Increases Also Affect Tipped Minimum Wage?
It depends on the state. In states that don't allow a tip credit, like Alaska, Minnesota, and Oregon (all on this list), tipped employees receive the full new minimum wage directly, with tips paid entirely on top. In states that do allow a tip credit, a rise in the standard minimum wage usually raises the tipped cash wage too, since most tip-credit formulas are set as a fixed dollar amount below the full minimum rather than a fixed percentage. See our tipped minimum wage guide for how the tip credit works state by state.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many states raised their minimum wage in 2026?
20 states raised their minimum wage in 2026: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia.
Which state has the highest minimum wage after the 2026 increases?
Among the states that raised their rate this year, California's new $16.90/hr is the highest. Nationally, Washington's $17.13/hr remains the overall highest state minimum wage, though its rate didn't change in 2026. See our full state ranking.
Is the federal minimum wage increasing in 2026?
No, the federal minimum wage stays at $7.25/hr. Only state and local minimum wages increased in 2026.
Where can I find my state's exact current minimum wage?
See our complete state-by-state minimum wage table, updated as states raise their rates throughout the year.
For official federal wage data, see the US Department of Labor's state minimum wage laws page. See the full history of state and federal minimum wage changes for additional context.
