A total of 19 states raised their minimum wage this month, affecting an estimated 8.3 million workers, reported the Wall Street Journal.
The states that increased their minimum wage starting this month are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
The largest state minimum wage jump in the country took place in Hawaii, where baseline hourly rates rose from $2 to $16. Washington state adopted the highest state-level rate at $17.13 per hour—the first state to enact an hourly minimum above $17. In Nebraska and Missouri, voter-passed ballot initiatives brought those states’ minimum wages up to $15 an hour.
“For the first time, more workers now live in states that pay $15 or higher per hour than those that have kept the $7.25 minimum, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, which estimated the number of workers affected by this year’s increases,” WSJ wrote.
The minimum wage in Alaska and Oregon will increase on July 1, while workers in Florida will be paid at least $15 an hour beginning September 30.
In some places, localities have set minimum wages that are higher than the state-mandated wage. Seattle’s minimum wage increased to $21.30 on January 1, among the highest of any city in the country. Beginning this year, workers in New York City, Long Island and New York’s Westchester County will earn at least $17 an hour, higher than the $16-per-hour minimum wage recently enacted for the state.