Millions of American workers are in line for a pay rise on January 1, 2027, when the minimum wage goes up in 16 states, even as the federal floor stays frozen at $7.25 an hour.
The increases were tallied in a November 9 roundup from payroll firm ADP, which counts more than 60 state and local minimum wage increases taking effect on January 1. Most are inflation-linked adjustments of 26 to 60 cents an hour — but a few states are making much bigger, law-driven jumps.
Michigan Leads the Way to $15
Michigan is making the largest confirmed rise in the country: its general minimum wage climbs from $13.73 to $15.00 an hour, a $1.27 jump worth $2,641.60 a year to a full-time worker. The rise is written into state law rather than tied to inflation, and it makes Michigan the only state whose general minimum crosses the $15 line on January 1.
Washington keeps the highest statewide rate in the country, rising from $17.13 to $17.73. The other confirmed January 1 rates are Connecticut $17.48, California $17.40, Rhode Island $17.00, New Jersey $16.48, Colorado $15.71, Maine $15.70, Arizona $15.65, Nebraska $15.26, Virginia $13.75, South Dakota $12.30, Minnesota $11.87, Ohio $11.40 and Montana $11.20. Vermont also has a January 1 adjustment scheduled, but its new rate has not yet been announced.
The Other Side of the Map
After January 1, 18 states plus the District of Columbia will pay $15.00 or more. Alaska follows a different timetable: its minimum rises from $14.00 to $15.00 on July 1, 2027. Washington, D.C. still pays more than any state at $18.40, but its rate does not change on January 1.
The contrast is stark elsewhere. The federal minimum wage is still $7.25, where it has been since July 24, 2009 — the 18th consecutive year without an increase — and the U.S. Department of Labor counts 20 states with either no minimum wage law or one at or below $7.25. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 844,000 hourly workers earned at or below $7.25 in 2025, about 1.0 percent of the 81.5 million people paid by the hour. The January rises will not lift every worker’s pay — anyone already earning above the new floor gets nothing from the change alone — but for low-paid workers in the 16 states, the new year starts with a real, if modest, raise. For how work shapes household budgets, see our report on how 77 percent of workers rely on driving to keep their jobs, and retail sales rising for a 13th straight month.
