Over 8 million workers will get a raise on New Year's as states step in to raise their minimum wages

8.4 million workers will get a raise on New Year's, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
23 states are set to raise their minimum wages on January 1, due to inflation, legislation, and ballot measures.
Many states have raised local minimum wages past the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.

Nearly half the states in the country have a present for their workers come New Year's Day: Their minimum wages will go up.

According to an analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, 8.4 million workers will start getting a higher paycheck come January 1. That's due to a combination of inflation adjustments, legislation, and ballot measures. Taken together, the increases will boost pay for those 8.4 million workers by over $5 billion — and women and workers of color, who are all more likely to be low-wage workers, will be disproportionately impacted.

Other highlights:

For workers in Delaware, annual raises will amount to nearly $1,000.
Over 2 million parents are set to see their pay go up, according to EPI — and over a million are single parents.
The increases across the country will also add two more states to the $15-an-hour club, with Massachusetts' pay rising to $15 and Washington's to $15.74. Workers in Massachusetts will make $659 more annually, while workers in Washington will get $850 more every year.

States and cities stepping in to raise their minimum wages is not a new phenomenon. In the wake of a stagnant federal wage — which has languished at $7.25 for 13 years — many regions have taken matters into their own hands. According to the Department of Labor, 30 states have pay above the federal minimum.

Since 2012, the year that Fight for 15 began pushing for a $15 minimum wage, those regional raises have resulted in $87.6 billion more in economic output, according to a National Employment Law Project analysis. Those hikes don't just support 452,000 jobs annually; they also helped nearly halve the wealth gap between Black and white workers in states that opted for higher pay.

Rising prices and labor shortages have led some businesses to raise wages of their own volition, bringing average hourly earnings to $32.82 for nonfarm payroll employees in November. However, wages in traditionally lower-paying industries like leisure and hospitality still came in at an average of $20.51 — meaning many workers are still earning below that. A September paper from the Urban Institute and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that a $15 federal minimum wage would bring 7.6 million Americans out of poverty. Many states that default to the federal minimum have a large population of Black workers, leaving them out of wage gains and widening racial wealth gaps.

But Congress probably won't be in the same holiday spirit as the states giving their workers more money. A Democratic-controlled House and Senate failed to pass a $15 minimum wage in 2021, and it's been relatively silent ever since. With Republicans doubling down on reducing spending and inflation, a GOP-led House is unlikely to take up any large federal hike.

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