What states are raising minimum wage?

The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has not increased since 2009 — and even in states with a higher minimum wage, the progress is sometimes too slow. In Detroit, the living wage is estimated at $10.32 per hour, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. read more

Some Republican state governments, like Ohio, have voted to block cities from raising wages faster than the state, while in states like Kentucky the courts have struck down metropolitan wage increases. Still, campaigns to raise the minimum wage are underway in 17 states and cities, according to the National Employment Law Project. By 2022, 17% of Americans will live in a city or state with a $15 minimum wage. read more

For the other eight states, the wage increases are due to increases in cost of living. Because some of those wages are adjusted according to the inflation index, which rises with the cost of living, these raises amount to less than a quarter an hour. read more

In some areas, wages are going up, but remain closer to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Congress hasn't voted to raise the minimum wage in more than a decade. In Missouri, for example, the minimum wage will rise from $7.70 an hour to $7.85 an hour in 2018, a slight uptick said to account for inflation. read more