24 States That Are Raising Their Minimum Wage in 2022

2021 was a year of runaway inflation in the U.S. If you lived on the minimum wage, it was hard to keep up with rising costs.

However, help is on the way. Nearly half of U.S. states are bumping their minimum wages higher in 2022, according to a roundup from Paycor, a company that creates HR software.

Some of these states are gradually raising their minimum wage over a period of years with the goal of topping out at $15 an hour. In fact, this year, California will become the first state to officially reach a $15 minimum wage. (The District of Columbia met that mark in 2020.)

Other states do not have the $15 goal but are hiking wages nonetheless.

Following are the states that are raising their minimum wage in 2022:

• Arizona: $12.80 (up from the 2021 minimum wage of $12.15)
• California: $15 ($14)
• Colorado: $12.56 ($12.32)
• Connecticut: $14, effective July 1, 2022 ($13)
• Florida: $11, effective Sept. 30, 2022 ($10)
• Illinois: $12 ($11)
• Maine: $12.75 ($12.15)
• Maryland: $12.50 ($11.75)
• Massachusetts: $14.25 ($13.50)
• Michigan: $9.87 ($9.65)
• Minnesota: $10.33 ($10.08)
• Missouri: $11.15 ($10.30)
• Montana: $9.20 ($8.75)
• Nevada: $9.50, effective July 1, 2022 ($8.75)
• New Jersey: $13 ($12)
• New Mexico: $11.50 ($10.50)
• New York: $13.20 ($12.50)
• Ohio: $9.30 ($8.80)
• Oregon: $13.50, effective July 1, 2022 ($12.75)
• Rhode Island: $12.25 ($11.50)
• South Dakota: $9.95 ($9.45)
• Vermont: $12.55 ($11.75)
• Virginia: $11 ($9.50)
• Washington: $14.49 ($13.69)

The minimum wage increases may not end with those states either. Paycor says at least three other states — North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee — are weighing legislation that could boost their minimum wage as soon as later this year.

In a handful of states, the new minimum wage doesn’t apply to all employers. For instance, California’s $15 minimum wage is only required of businesses employing 26 or more workers. Smaller companies can pay $14 an hour. Meanwhile, in Nevada, the $9.50 per hour minimum wage is only for employers who offer a health insurance benefit. Those who don’t do that will need to pay their workers at least $10.50 an hour. Maryland, Minnesota and New Jersey also limit their increases to only certain employers.

For more on what it takes to “get by” where you live, check out “The ‘Living Wage’ in Every State in 2021.”

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