As states and localities across the nation increase their minimum wages, EPI has added a new interactive map that provides a comprehensive overview of minimum wage laws across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The map lists the current minimum wage and tipped minimum wage in each state, as well as localities which have raised their minimum wages, along with the date and amount of the most recent increase. The map, which will be continually updated as laws change, also features information about each state’s most recent major change to minimum wage law, upcoming increases, and whether or not the minimum wage is indexed for automatic future adjustments.
States can be filtered by minimum wage dollar amount, recent and upcoming minimum wage increases, recent updates to minimum wage laws, and the presence of indexing. Where applicable, the tracker also describes the minimum wage and tipped minimum wage laws in cities and counties within states that have established independent minimum wage laws.
“Lawmakers have let the federal minimum wage erode to the point where today’s low-wage workers earn significantly less than their counterparts 50 years ago,” said David Cooper, EPI research analyst. “This map gives us a picture of what individual states and localities are—or are not—doing to counter that erosion.”
As of July 2015, 29 states and the District of Columbia have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Fourteen states have updated their minimum wage laws since January 2014 and 18 sub-state localities have adopted minimum wages above their state’s minimum wage. The minimum wage is indexed for inflation in 15 states.
The current federal subminimum wage for tipped workers (also known as the tipped minimum wage) is currently $2.13. As of July 2015, 32 states and the District of Columbia have a tipped minimum wage above the federal tipped minimum—of these, 24 states and the District of Columbia have a tipped minimum wage between the federal $2.13 and the regular state minimum wage. Tipped workers are paid the regular minimum wage in eight states.
Read more about the minimum wage.