Minimum Wage Workers In New York State Will Get Yearly Raises
It's not the $21-an-hour wage many people were hoping for, but it is a major change. Governor Hochul announced an increase to the minimum wage in her 2024 Budget. A bill had aimed to raise the minimum wage in New York State to $21.25 an hour. Dubbed the 'Raise the Wage Act', the bill would incrementally increase New York's minimum wage. But, Governor Hochul announced on May 3, 2023, that she has included incremental raises to the minimum wage in her budget for next year.
In the face of steadily rising costs and inflation, this historic plan to overhaul New York's minimum wage will ensure that the wages of those hit hardest by the affordability crisis - including women, single mothers, and people of color - keep pace with the cost of living. ~ Governor Hochul
What Is New York State's Current Minimum Wage?
The minimum wage in New York will increase each year on New Year's Eve until it reaches $15 per hour. New York City and Long Island/Westchester workers already reached $15 per hour in 2019 and 2021, respectively. Around the rest of the state, the minimum wage increased on December 31, 2022. The hourly wage will increase by $1, from $13.20 to $14.20.
Many states still have the federal minimum wage, which is ridiculously low, especially now that inflation is kicking everyone's butt. It's unbelievable that 21 states still have the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming expect working people to survive off just over $7 per hour.
Beginning in 2024, New York State Will Raise Minimum Wage
On January 1, 2024, the minimum wage will increase to $16 in New York City and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester. Around the rest of the state, the minimum wage will go up to $15. Then, in the following two years, in 2025 and 2026, the minimum wage will increase by $0.50 in each year. In 2027, the New York State minimum wage will increase according to the Consumer Price Index. It will be tied to inflation, benefitting hundreds of thousands of minimum wage workers across the state.
Following three years of set growth in 2024, 2025, and 2026, beginning January 1, 2027, New York State will increase its minimum wage by the three-year moving average of the CPI-W for the Northeast Region. An "off-ramp" is available in the event of certain economic or budget conditions. Indexing the minimum wage to inflation will help to maintain the purchasing power of workers' wages from year to year.