As I’ve always understood it, minimum wage is primarily for entry-level workers like teenagers.
A “minimum wage” is intended to protect them from being unfairly exploited while they learn what it’s like / how to be an employee.
Business owners hiring them bear the brunt of teaching them new skill and how to behave with customers, etc.
IMHO, the minimum wage was never intended for someone who is a “head of a household, married, with 2 kids, etc.”
By the time you’re at that stage of life, one should be way down the road and have found many ways to prove themselves more valuable to an employer. But, here we are…
State Minimum Wage Increases in 2024
Unless otherwise noted, changes take effect January 1, 2024
Alaska: $11.73, up from $10.85
Arizona: $14.35, up from $13.85
California: $16, up from $15.50
Colorado: $14.42 (proposed), up from $13.65
Connecticut: $15.69, up from $15
Delaware: $13.25, up from $11.75
Florida: $13, up from $12, on September 30
Hawaii: $14, up from $12
Ilinois: $14, up from $13
Maine: $14.15, up from $13.80
Maryland: $15, up from $13.25 for large employers and $12.80 for small employers
Michigan: $10.33, up from $10.10
Minnesota: $10.85 for large employers, up from $10.59; $8.85, up from $8.63 for others
Missouri: $12.30, up from $12
Montana: $10.30, up from $9.95
Nebraska: $12, up from $10.50
Nevada: $12, up from a $10.25 or $11.25 (depending on health benefits) – effective July 1, 2024
New Jersey: $15.13, up from $14.13
New York: $15, up from $14.20 (except in New York City, Westchester and Long Island, where it is set at $16, up from $15)
Ohio: $10.45, up from $10.10
Oregon: Its $14.20 minimum wage will adjust for inflation on July 1
Rhode Island: $14, up from $13
South Dakota: $11.20
Vermont: $13.67, up from $13.18
Washington: $16.28, up from $15.74
District of Columbia: Its $17 minimum wage will adjust for inflation on July 1
