List of U.S. minimum wages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of the minimum wages (per hour) in each state and territory of the United States, for jobs covered by federal minimum wage laws. If the job is not subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, then state, city, or other local laws may determine the minimum wage. A common exemption to the federal minimum wage is a company having revenue of less than $500,000/year while not engaging in any interstate commerce.

Under the federal law, workers that receive a portion of their salary from tips, such as wait staff, are only required to have their total compensation, including tips, to meet the minimum wage, so often their hourly wage, not including tips, is less than the minimum wage.

In addition, some counties and/or cities within states may observe a higher minimum wage than the rest of the state in which they are located; sometimes this higher wage will apply only to businesses that are under contract to the local government itself, while in other cases the higher minimum will be enforced across the board.

Currently, Washington has the highest minimum wages of all 50 states, followed by Oregon and Vermont. Kansas for many years had the lowest state approved minimum wage, set at $2.65, but that will change to $7.25 starting on January 1, 2010. Only 20,000 workers in Kansas are currently paid less than the federal minimum wage.^[3] Five states have no minimum wage enacted under state law. In these states, the current federal minimum wage applies for most jobs. Out of the entire country, states or cities, Santa Fe has the highest minimum wage at $9.92 as of January 1, 2009.

Contents 1 Minimum Wage levels 1.1 Federal 1.2 State 1.3 Territory 2 History of the Federal Minimum Wage 3 See also 4 References

[edit] Minimum Wage levels

[edit] Federal

Federal	Level	Notes
Federal	The Fair Labor Standards Act sets the federal minimum wage at $6.55 per hour. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, signed into law on May 25, 2007,[4] will increase the minimum wage over two years: $7.25 (July 24, 2009)[5]

[edit] State

Note: The following tables can be sorted alphabetically or numerically using the icon.

State	Level	Notes
Alabama	None	Federal minimum applies.[6]
Alaska	$7.25	Will increase to be at least $1 above federal minimum. [7] (but most recent bill to this effect failed to pass state legislature)
Arizona	$7.25[8]	Pursuant to Arizona Proposition 202. This rate will be automatically adjusted annually based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index. This rate increase does not affect student workers in places such as libraries and cafeterias because those positions are given by universities, which are State entities.[9]
Arkansas	$6.25	30c below Federal minimum
California	$8.00[10]	San Francisco $9.79[11]. IWC Order No. 4-2001 1,A,1,f states that exempt employees must make twice the state minimum wage.
Colorado	$7.28[12]	Tipped employees earn $4.26/hour.
Connecticut	$8.00	This rate will increase to $8.25 on January 1, 2010. Tipped employees earn $5.41/hour.
Delaware	$7.15	Increasing to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.[1]
District of Columbia	$7.55	This rate is automatically set at $1 above the Federal minimum wage rate if the District of Columbia rate is lower.
Florida	$7.21	Rises with inflation. $4.19 per hour for tipped employees.
Georgia	$5.15	The State Minimum Wage is Only Applicable to employers of 6 or more employees. If less than 6 then there is No Minimum at All. Not linked to the federal rate.[1]
Hawaii	$7.25
Idaho	$6.55
Illinois	$8.00	The minimum wage will increase to $8.25 on July 1, 2010. Employers may pay anyone under the age of 18 $0.50 less. Tipped employees earn $4.65 (employers may claim credit for tips, up to 40% of wage[13]).
Indiana	$7.25	Increasing to $7.25 on July 25, 2009.[1]
Iowa	$7.25[14]	Most small retail and service establishments grossing less than 300,000 annually are not required to pay the minimum wage. Tipped employees can be paid 60% of the minimum wage, which is currently $4.35.
Kansas	$2.65	Increasing to $7.25 on January 1, 2010.[15] Employees not covered by the Federal Fair Labor Standard Act are subject to Kansas' current minimum wage laws.
Kentucky	$7.25
Louisiana	None	Federal minimum applies.
Maine	$7.25	Increasing to $7.50 on October 1, 2009.[1]
Maryland	$7.25	The minimum wage is automatically replaced with the Federal minimum wage rate if it is higher than the State minimum wage rate.[1] Increasing to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.
Massachusetts	$8.00[16]	$2.63 for service (tipped) employees, $1.60 for agricultural employees.
Michigan	$7.40	($2.65 for service (tipped) employees, Minors 16-17 years of age may be paid 85% of the minimum hourly wage rate (currently $6.29 per hour). Training wage for new employees ages 16 to 19 of $4.25/hour for first 90 days of employment.
Minnesota	$6.15/$5.25	Large employer (any enterprise whose annual gross volume of sales made or business done is not less than $625,000): $6.15. Small employer (any enterprise whose annual gross volume of sales made or business done is less than $625,000): $5.25.
Mississippi	None	Federal minimum applies.
Missouri	$7.05[15]	This rate is automatically adjusted annually based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index rounded to the nearest five cents.
Montana	$7.25	This rate is automatically adjusted annually based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index. Tip income may not be applied as an offset to an employee's pay rate. The minimum pay is $4/hour for business with less than $110,000 in annual sales.[17]
Nebraska	$7.25	Increasing to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.[18]
Nevada	$7.55	Rises with inflation.[19]
New Hampshire	$7.25	The minimum wage is automatically replaced with the Federal minimum wage rate if it is higher than the State minimum wage rate.[1]
New Jersey	$7.15	Increasing to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.[1]
New Mexico	$7.50	Not linked to the federal rate.[1] $9.92 in Santa Fe (now covering all employees, since expansion to employers with less than 25 employees, as of January 1, 2008).[20][21] As of January 1, 2009, Santa Fe's rate will have a cost of living increase, thus keeping it the country's highest minimum wage.[22]
New York	$7.25	New York also has a minimum for exempt employees $536.10/week as of January 1, 2007 and increasing to $7.25/hour on July 24, 2009.[1]
North Carolina	$7.25	Increasing to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.[1]
North Dakota	$7.25	Increasing to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.[1]
Ohio	$7.30	$6.55 for 14 and 15 year olds and those whose employers gross less than $267,000. This rate will increase to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.[23] This rate is automatically adjusted annually on every January 1 based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index.
Oklahoma	$7.25	Federal minimum wage used as reference; no actual amounts written in law.[1] $2.00/hour for work not covered by federal minimum wage OK Statutes 40-197.5
Oregon	$8.40	Rises with inflation.
Pennsylvania	$7.25	Increasing to $7.25 on July 24, 2009. [24]
Rhode Island	$7.40	$2.89 for employees receiving tips.
South Carolina	None	Federal minimum applies.
South Dakota	$7.25	Increasing to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.[1]
Tennessee	None	Federal minimum applies.
Texas	$7.25	Federal minimum wage used as reference; no actual amounts written in law.[1][25]
Utah	$7.25	Federal minimum wage used as reference after legislative action; no actual amounts written in law. Current rate took effect on September 8, 2007.[1]
Vermont	$8.06	Rises with inflation.[26]
Virginia	$7.25	Federal minimum wage used as reference; no actual amounts written in law.[1]
Washington	$8.55	Employees aged 14 or 15 may be paid 85% of the minimum wage, which for 2009 is $7.27 per hour. Increases annually by a voter-approved cost-of-living adjustment based on the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
West Virginia	$7.25	Applicable to employers of 6 or more employees at one location not involved in interstate commerce.[1]
Wisconsin	$6.50[27]	5¢ below Federal minimum
Wyoming	$5.15	Not linked to the federal rate.[1]

[edit] Territory

Territory	Level	Notes
American Samoa	$2.68-$4.09	Varies by industry.[28] Planned increases to $7.25 by 2014.[29]
Guam	$5.85[1]
Northern Mariana Islands	$3.55	Since July 23, 2007. Planned increases to $7.25 by 2015.[29]
Puerto Rico	$4.25 to $7.25	Employers covered by the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are subject only to the Federal minimum.[1]
U.S. Virgin Islands	$6.15	Except businesses with gross annual receipts of less than $150,000, then $4.30. (In practice, the Virgin Islands adopts the Federal per hour rate)

[edit] History of the Federal Minimum Wage

The U.S. Federal Minimum Wage, originally created by the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, has risen in nominal terms over time. Originally $0.25 per hour, the federal minimum hourly wage for nonfarm workers rose accordingly:

Year	Level	Notes
1939	30 cents
1945	40 cents
1950	75 cents
1956	$1.00
1965	$1.25
1967	$1.00	Fell back to 1956 levels
1968	$1.15
1969	$1.30
1970	$1.45
1971	$1.60
1974	$1.90
1975	$2.00
1976	$2.20
1977	$2.30
1978	$2.65
1979	$2.90
1980	$3.10
1981	$3.35
1990	$3.80
1991	$4.25
1996	$4.75
1997	$5.15
2007	$5.85
2008	$6.55

The Fair Labor Standards Act and its subsequent amendments have created a schedule for increases in the Minimum Wage. Major adjustments to this schedule took place in years such as 1961 and 1966.

The Federal Minimum Wage is scheduled to rise to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.

Employers are exempt from paying certain kinds of workers the minimum wage of $6.55 per hour. A lower minimum exists for these workers. For example, in 1997, a subminimum wage of $4.25 an hour was created for employees under 20 years of age during their first 90 days with an employer.

All above information in this section is based on the U.S. Department of Labor web page at http://www.dol.gov/ESA/minwage/chart.htm .

Although the nominal minimum wage has been increasing over time, the value of this wage in real terms has fluctuated due to inflation. http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/anth484/minwage.html suggests that the real value of the Federal Minimum Wage peaked in the late 1960s through the 1970s at a level that would be equivalent to more than $8.00 an hour in 2007 dollars, even though the minimum wage was between $1.00 and $3.00 in nominal terms during this time. By comparison, the 2006 minimum wage of $5.15 an hour is assessed as being lower in real terms than the Federal Minimum Wage had ever been since the increase to $0.75 in January 1950.

[edit] See also

• Minimum wage in the United States
• Fair Labor Standards Act

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u} Minimum Wage Laws in the States. From the United States Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration - Wage and Hour Division. The source page has a clickable US map with current and projected state-by-state minimum wage rates for each state.
2. ^ U.S. Department of Labor � Employment Standards Administration (ESA) � Wage and Hour Division (WHD) � Enter header
3. ^ Associate Press: Kansas: Official says higher minimum wage may help 20,000
4. ^ "US minimum wage to get $2 boost". May 25, 2007. BBC News.
5. ^ New Federal Minimum Wage Increase for 2007, 2008, 2009. Labor Law Center.
6. ^ FAQs
7. ^ News Release 02-73
8. ^ http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm
9. ^ http://www.ica.state.az.us/minimumWage/index.html Arizona Department of Labor
10. ^ Minimum wage
11. ^ Office of Labor Standards Enforcement: Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO)
12. ^ Colorado Minimum Wage Order Poster
13. ^ Illinois Department of Labor - Minimum Wage Law
14. ^ http://www.iowaworkforce.org/labor/wageandhourquestionsandanswers.pdf
15. ^ ^{a b} "Sebelius signs bill to raise Kansas minimum wage to $7.25 an hour". Kansas City Business Journal. April 23, 2009. http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2009/04/20/daily43.html. 
16. ^ Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD)
17. ^ http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm
18. ^ Nebraska Workforce Development. Safety/Labor Standards. 10 Most Frequently Asked Questions. Nebraska government website.
19. ^ Nevada's Minimum Wage
20. ^ "City's minimum pay requirement expands to small businesses; state minimum kicks in". By Julie Ann Grimm. December 31, 2007. The Santa Fe New Mexican.
21. ^ Santa Fe Living Wage Network.
22. ^ Living wage
23. ^ http://www.com.ohio.gov/laws/docs/laws_2009MinimumWage.pdf
24. ^ http://www.dli.state.pa.us/landi/lib/landi/laborlaw/pdf/llc-1.pdf
25. ^ Texas Minimum Wage Law Summary
26. ^ http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm
27. ^ http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/er/labor_standards_bureau/minimum_wage.htm Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
28. ^ DOL WHD: Wage Rate in American Samoa
29. ^ ^{a b} DOI Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) -Statement of Nikolao I. Pula - February 28, 2008