Minimum wage is set to increase in a record number of jurisdictions in 2025

A record number of cities, counties and states are on track to raise their minimum wages in 2025, according to a recent analysis by the National Employment Law Project (NELP), a nonprofit advocacy organization.

A total of 88 jurisdictions, including 65 cities and counties and 23 states, will institute minimum wage increases throughout the year, with 70 of those jurisdictions (61 cities and counties and nine states) meeting or exceeding minimum wages of $15 per hour. A total of 53 jurisdictions—51 cities and counties and two states—will see minimum wages reach or exceed $17 per hour for some or all employees, according to NELP.

The minimum wage increases will usher in pay raises for more than 9.2 million workers on Jan. 1 by a total of $5.7 billion, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank. Most of the wage jumps will take place in California, Colorado and Washington.

The City of Burien, Wash., will achieve the highest minimum wage in the nation on Jan. 1, reaching $21.16 for employers with 500 employees or more, according to NELP.

King County, Wash., which encompasses Seattle and SeaTac, Wash.—cities with some of the highest minimum wages in the U.S.—also adopted an ordinance to raise its minimum wage to $20.29 beginning Jan. 1. 

The City of Burien, Wash., will have the highest minimum wage in the nation starting Jan. 1: $21.16. | City of Burien

"With the cost-of-living skyrocketing in King County, it's crucial that our region's workers have the means to survive,” King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay stated following the passage of the new minimum wage legislation this spring. “One job should be enough to cover basic needs like rent and groceries.”

Boulder, Colo., one of the most expensive cities in Colorado, will become the state’s fourth locality to set a local minimum wage after a law banning localities from enacting higher local wages was struck down. Boulder’s minimum wage will rise to $15.57 per hour Jan. 1 and is scheduled to reach $18.17 by 2027. 

The number of states enacting $15 minimum wages is also rising. Rhode Island, Illinois and Delaware will all hit the $15 mark in 2025, following in the footsteps of California, New York, Washington, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland and Connecticut. A total of 14 states have adopted “a path” to enact $15 per hour minimum wages since 2012, according to NELP. 

A majority of the minimum wage increases in January stem from state laws that index the minimum wage to inflation, according to the Economic Policy Institute report.

“Thirteen states are increasing their minimum wages through automatic annual inflation adjustments, containing more than half (56.2%) of the workers affected by this year’s increases,” the report stated. “The average full-time affected worker in these states will make around $400 more annually.”

The federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 since 2009.