Is your pay check about to grow? These U.S. locations are raising the minimum wage in July
Just under 900,000 American workers are set to benefit from minimum-wage increases in several locations in the U.S.
In several locations across the United States, workers are poised to benefit from a rise in the minimum hourly wage, with state-level pay hikes reportedly affecting nearly a million individuals.
On July 1, minimum-wage increases are to be implemented across Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), these rises will impact some 880,000 workers.
“These minimum wage increases will put more money in workers’ pockets, helping many of them and their families make ends meet,” the EPI says. “The average increase in annual wages for a full-time, year-round worker resulting from these minimum wage hikes ranges from $420 in Oregon to $925 in Alaska.”
How much are the state minimum wage rises in the U.S.?
The EPI lists the following wage increases:
- Alaska: up $1.09 to $13.00
- D.C.: up $0.45 to $17.95
- Oregon: up $0.35 to $14.70
At the city and county level, meanwhile, lawmakers have also implemented minimum-wage rises.
How much are the city/county minimum wage increases?
Per the EPI, the following locations, mostly in California, will witness these summer increases:
- Alameda, CA: up $0.46 to $17.46
- Berkeley, CA: up $0.51 to $19.18
- Emeryville, CA: up $0.54 to $19.90
- Fremont, CA: up $0.45 to $17.75
- Los Angeles, CA: up $0.59 to $17.87
- Los Angeles County, CA: up $0.54 to $17.81
- Milpitas, CA: up $0.50 to $18.20
- Pasadena, CA: up $0.54 to $18.04
- San Francisco, CA: up $0.51 to $18.04
- Santa Monica, CA: up $0.54 to $17.81
- Chicago, IL: up $0.40 to $16.60
- Montgomery County, MA: up $0.50 to $17.65
What is the federal minimum wage in the U.S.?
It is now 16 years since the U.S. government upped the minimum wage at the federal level.
Last increased in July 2009, the federal baseline currently stands at $7.25. Per research carried out by the EPI, which has developed a ‘family budget calculator’, a single adult in full-time employment in America needs at least $17 an hour to cover all daily costs.
And according to a recent study by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP), a majority of the American population does not earn enough to meet what the body terms a “minimal quality of life”.
U.S. households “falling short”
Published in May, LISEP’s report estimating that the cost of “basic economic security” has risen by 99.5% since 2001 - outstripping the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ calculated inflation rate by nearly 40%.
“In 2023, the bottom 60% of households earned just 22.1% of all disposable income but needed 39% to meet MQL,” LISEP said. “On average, these households earn $38,000 per year, falling more than $29,000 short of the MQL.”
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