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Minimum wage just increased in Missouri and 22 other states. How do the pay raises compare?

By The NPR Network

Published January 4, 2023 at 12:47 PM CST

An activist holds a placard demanding a $15/hour minimum wage and tips for restaurant workers at the House Triangle of the U.S. Capitol in February.

Thanks to a ballot initiative passed by voters in 2018, Missouri's minimum wage rose in the new year to $12 an hour, while tipped workers now have a minimum wage of $6 an hour.

Workers earning minimum wage in 23 states and the District of Columbia got a raise over the New Year's holiday, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

The biggest increase: Nebraska

As Nebraska Public Media reports, voters decided in November to increase the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026, in increments of $1.50 per year. That brings the state to $10.50 an hour for this year.

Smallest increase: Michigan

According to Michigan Radio, the state's first increase, which went into effect at the start of the year, raised the state's minimum wage to $10.10, up just $0.23. But there's a chance of a second increase that could raise the state's minimum wage to $13.03. Michigan Public Radio Network's Rick Pluta has details.

Highest minimum wage: Washington state and Washington, D.C.

In November, voters in the District of Columbia decided to phase out the region's tipped minimum wage over the next few years to match the District's $16.10 per hour for workers. As DCist's Amanda Michelle Gomez explains, "the measure's success also comes four years after the passage of a nearly identical initiative and its subsequent overturn by the D.C. Council."

Meanwhile in Washington state, not only has the state's minimum wage gone up by $1.25 to $15.74 an hour, but as KUOW reports, the city of Seattle has raised the minimum wage for small and large employers by $0.75 and $1.42, respectively.

States where minimum wage is tied to cost of living saw a bigger bump than in years past

As a result of the recent high inflation, minimum wage increases in states where cost of living is taken into consideration were greater than in years past, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Those include: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont and Washington state.

Plus:

— Minimum wage is expected to increase to over $13 an hour across New England in 2023, except in New Hampshire, where it has stayed at $7.25 for over a decade.

— The Columbus, Ohio, city council is raising minimum wage for workers at companies receiving economic incentives from the city to $20 an hour.