In 2024, the minimum wage will increase in 25 states. The increases range from $0.23 in Michigan (a 2.23% increase from 2023) to $2.00 in Hawaii (a 14.29% increase from 2023).
The 2024 increases come from state laws adopted in the past that provided for incremental increases and inflation adjustments.
Twenty-two states have increases on Jan. 1, 2023; two (Oregon and Nevada) will increase on July 1, 2024; and one (Florida) will increase on Sept. 30, 2024.
The average state minimum wage, including D.C., in 2024 will be $10.69, up from $10.47 in 2023. The average state minimum wage was $6.92 in 2008 and $10.69 in 2024 (a difference of $3.77).
Highest and lowest state minimum wages:
The highest state minimum wage in 2024 will be in Washington at $17.00. The minimum wage is the lowest in Georgia and Wyoming, where the states’ $5.15 minimum wages are superseded by the federal government’s $7.25 per hour requirement. Going into 2024, 20 states used the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25, and 30 states provided for state minimum wages above the federal minimum wage.
Largest and smallest increases in 2024:
Hawaii will have the largest increase in 2024, with the minimum wage increasing $2.00 from $12.00 to $14.00 per hour. In 2022, Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) signed House Bill 2510 into law, which was designed to raise the $10.10 per hour minimum wage to $12.00 per hour starting on Oct. 1, 2022, to $14.00 on Jan. 1, 2024, to $16.00 on Jan. 1, 2026, and $18.00 on Jan. 1, 2028.
Of the states with changes, Michigan will have the smallest increase in 2024, rising 23 cents from $10.10 to $10.33 per hour.
Minimum wage ballot measures in 2024:
One ballot measure concerning the minimum wage will be on the 2024 ballot in California. The measure would increase the minimum wage to $18 per hour by 2026.
Signatures have also been submitted for an initiative in Michigan that would increase the minimum wage by one dollar per year until it reaches $15.00 per hour in 2027.
Signatures have also been submitted for an initiative in Massachusetts that would gradually increase the wage for tipped employees until it meets the state minimum wage in 2029.
Other minimum wage increase initiatives have been proposed in Missouri, Ohio, Alaska, and Oklahoma.
From 1996 to 2022, there were 28 minimum wage increase measures on the ballot. Voters approved 26 (92.86%) and rejected two (7.14%). The last time that voters rejected a minimum wage increase measure was in 1996 when measures were defeated in Missouri and Montana.
