Minimum Wages by State (as of 1/1/20)

[Recyclersteve]

With a new year upon us comes higher minimum wage figures for a number of states. Before providing numbers for each state, here is the link that I used:

https://www.laborlawcenter.com/state-mi ... age-rates/

And here are the new minimums by state (Note that the federal minimum is $7.25):

Alabama $7.25
Alaska $10.19
Arizona $12.00
Arkansas $10.00
California $13.00
Colorado $12.00
Connecticut $11.00
Delaware $9.25
District of Columbia $15.00 (the highest in the U.S.)
Florida $8.56 (an odd number- likely indexed for inflation)
Georgia $7.25
Hawaii $10.10
Idaho $7.25
Illinois $9.25
Indiana $7.25
Iowa $7.25
Kansas $7.25
Kentucky $7.25
Louisiana $7.25
Maine $12.00
Maryland $11.00
Massachusetts $12.75
Michigan $9.65
Minnesota $10.00
Mississippi $7.25
Missouri $9.45
Montana $8.65
Nebraska $9.00
Nevada $9.00
New Hampshire $7.25
New Jersey $11.00
New Mexico $9.00
New York $11.80
North Carolina $7.25
North Dakota $7.25
Ohio $8.70
Oklahoma $7.25
Oregon $11.25
Pennsylvania $7.25
Rhode Island $10.50
South Carolina $7.25
South Dakota $9.30
Tennessee $7.25
Texas $7.25
Utah $7.25
Vermont $10.96
Virginia $7.25
Washington $13.50
West Virginia $8.75
Wisconsin $7.25
Wyoming $7.25

Now there are some comments to be added. First, you have to consider the cost of living in addition to the wages paid before drawing any real conclusions. For instance, the cost of living (housing especially) is much more expensive in Alaska and Hawaii than in Vermont. Yet Vermont has a higher minimum wage!

Also, you will notice that many of the $7.25/hour minimum wage states are clustered in the south and east. As a matter of fact, EVERY state in that portion of the country (except Arkansas and Florida) has a $7.25 wage.

Another complicating factor is that in some states different cities/areas have different minimum wage figures. For instance, Oregon has a higher minimum wage in the Portland metro area than in smaller cities in more rural areas.

For a young (or young at heart) person who is flexible in where they live, sometimes moving a modest distance across state lines to get a higher minimum wage (or for other financial reasons) is worth it. Remember, it is not how much money you make, but how much you save that really counts.

I have traveled to all of the 50 states and to many of them a half dozen times or more. So I have a particular interest in this sort of nerdy stuff.

[Recyclersteve]

The highest minimum wages locations (ranked by wage paid) are:

$15.00 (DC)
$13.50 (WA)
$13.00 (CA)
$12.75 (MA)
$12.00 (AZ, CO, ME)
$11.80 (NY)
$11.25 (OR)
$11.00 (CT, MD, NJ)
$10.96 (VT)
$10.50 (RI)

This is every state with a minimum wage of $10.50/hr. or more. A few that jump out to me in terms of potential value are Maine (vs. New York) and Vermont (vs. New Jersey).

[coindood]

$12.00 (AZ, CO, ME)

A few that jump out to me in terms of potential value are Maine...

No wonder when my Maine brother visits Vegas he raves about the "cheap" sandwich prices at Subway.

Thx for these stats.