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Minimum Wage Increase Effective Now, Know The 18 States That Implemented Up To 20 Percent Wage Hike

By Patricia Villaceran
Published on: 12:42 PST, Jan 1, 2018

The minimum wage increase is now effective in 18 states. This decision will affect almost 4.5 million U.S. workers.

The change in minimum wage received praise and opposition from both sides of the coin. A business owner in Owen Sound, Ont., Stellios Dimakos, said the 20 percent wage hike from $11.60 per hour to $14 per hour will reduce his earnings.

Dimakos added that with the new wage hike, his workers will now earn more than him since he puts in about 90 hours of work every week, CTV News reports. All in all, Dimakos’ bottom line will be reduced by about $150,000. To compensate for the new expenses, Dimakos said he has no other choice but to ramp up the cost of his menu to about $1 per item.

“We don’t have a choice. I don’t want to cut staff. I don’t want to cut the quality of my product, so that’s the only solution.”

According to VICE, each state did their own adjustment to the minimum wage. The $15 per hour is now effective in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and Berkeley. Emeryville will be raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour later this year.

Meanwhile, states like Washington, Vermont, California, Rhode Island, Michigan, New York, Arizona, and Colorado will see increases based on the legislative result of the ballot as per EPI, according to Fast Company. The remaining eight states including Alaska, New Jersey, Ohio, South Dakota, Minnesota, Florida, Montana, and Missouri will already receive modest increases effective Jan. 1.

Here’s the complete list of corresponding minimum wage changes for the 18 states:

  • ALASKA: $9.84 per hour
  • ARIZONA: $10.50 per hour
  • CALIFORNIA: $11 per hour
  • COLORADO: $10.20 per hour
  • FLORIDA: $8.25 per hour
  • HAWAII: $10.10 per hour
Minimum wage changes a lot of things from company budgeting to tax filing.
  • MAINE: $10 per hour
  • MICHIGAN: $9.25 per hour
  • MINNESOTA: $9.65 per hour
  • MISSOURI: $7.85 per hour
  • MONTANA: $8.30 per hour
  • NEW JERSEY: $8.60 per hour
  • NEW YORK: $10.40 per hour
  • OHIO: $8.30 per hour
  • RHODE ISLAND: $10.10 per hour
  • SOUTH DAKOTA: $8.85 per hour
  • VERMONT: $10.50 per hour
  • WASHINGTON: $11.50

This has been the biggest wage hike since 2009 where the average minimum wage was about $7.25 per hour. Now that states have taken the matter into their own hands, other states can expect to follow suit. New Jersey Governor-elect Phil Murphy said they will continue to rally for the $15 per hour minimum wage since there are big supporters from religious and labor organizations to push the initiative.

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