Comparing minimum wage to the cost of living in every state

The federal minimum wage is $vii.25 an hour, a charge per unit that has not gone upward since 2009. As the electric current wage stagnates, its purchasing power erodes against inflation. The average living wage today—divers as an income threshold that provides bones shelter and food and keeps a person higher up the poverty level—is $16.54, co-ordinate to research from the Massachusetts Plant of Technology.

Of course, what constitutes a living wage depends on the cost of living, which in many cases is dictated by geography. The priciest areas to alive in 2020 were the Northeast, Hawaii, Alaska, and the Westward Coast, reports the Missouri Economical Research and Information Center. The to the lowest degree expensive areas were Southern and Midwestern states.

To compare the price of living in every state and Washington, D.C. to the minimum wage, Stacker consulted MIT'south Living Wage Calculator. The tool aggregates kid intendance, food, housing, and other living costs into a living wage dependent upon family composition. For the statistics chosen, the calculator assumes that all adults are working full time (ii,080 hours a year). Data is recent every bit of 2020.

The Economic Policy Institute points out that depression wages are particularly harmful to workers of colour. A $15 minimum wage would represent a pay raise for 31% of African Americans and 26% of Latinos. The Congressional Budget Role estimated in 2019 that a $xv an hour wage would heighten the pay charge per unit for 17 million workers—but that it could price one.3 million jobs. Major business organisation groups accept opposed the move, equally have Republicans who take stymied efforts by congressional Democrats to lift the national minimum wage to $15.

Every bit the federal government remains stalled, private states are moving forward. California was the first state to raise the minimum to $xv an hour (by 2023). In states with their own minimum wage laws, workers have a right to the higher of the two established wages.

Keep reading to see how the minimum wage in your home land compares to the cost of living.

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Alabama

- Minimum wage: $7.25 ($15,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- ane adult: $thirteen.77 ($vi.52 difference)
--- ane adult and 1 child: $27.06 ($xix.81 difference)
--- 2 adults: $11.15 ($3.90 departure)
--- 2 adults and one child: $14.92 ($7.67 difference)

Like 4 other states, all in the South, Alabama does non have a minimum wage and therefore adheres to the federal rate of $7.25. Birmingham in 2016 raised the charge per unit to $10.10 an hour, just the state forestalled the increase past passing a law forbidding cities and other local governments from setting higher wages. Birmingham was the first city in the Deep South to endeavour to enact a college local wage. The price of living in Alabama is among the lowest in the country.

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Alaska

- Minimum wage: $x.19 ($21,195 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- one adult: $xv.06 ($4.87 departure)
--- 1 developed and 1 child: $29.86 ($19.67 deviation)
--- two adults: $11.69 ($1.50 divergence)
--- 2 adults and one kid: $16.34 ($6.15 difference)

Alaska'southward minimum wage rose to $10.34 on Jan. 1, 2021, although school bus drivers in the land must be paid at to the lowest degree twice that. Consumer prices spiked 3% in 2018, the commencement fourth dimension in three years that the state'southward costs increased more rapidly than the land's, according to labor statistics from the Alaska land government. I of the drivers was the increased price of medical care. Inflation was low in 2019 and then prices plunged in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, for the largest deflation in the Consumer Price Index since 1960.

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Arizona

- Minimum wage: $12.00 ($24,960 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $14.94 ($2.94 divergence)
--- 1 developed and i child: $29.01 ($17.01 difference)
--- 2 adults: $12.15 ($0.15 departure)
--- two adults and 1 child: $15.99 ($iii.99 divergence)

Arizona'southward minimum wage rose to $12.15 an 60 minutes in January 2021, an increase voters approved in 2016 based on rises in the toll of living. Flagstaff gear up its ain minimum wage to $15 an hour. It volition rising further to $15.50 by 2022, and outset the next yr, will be determined by the inflation rate or be set at $2 to a higher place the state's minimum wage, whichever is higher. Tucson and Mesa, Arizona, were ranked among the 10 U.Due south. cities with the everyman toll of living in 2020.

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Arkansas

- Minimum wage: $x.00 ($xx,800 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- one developed: $13.29 ($3.29 difference)
--- 1 developed and one child: $28.23 ($18.23 difference)
--- 2 adults: $eleven.25 ($1.25 divergence)
--- two adults and ane child: $15.54 ($5.54 difference)

Arkansas is amongst 25 states that scheduled a 2021 increase in the minimum wage, with the state'due south minimum wage rising to $xi an hour on January. 1, 2021, as approved by voters in 2018. Workers who rely on tips must be paid at to the lowest degree $2.63 an hour and an employer must make up the divergence if their wage falls short of $11 an hour. Lawmakers debated exempting small businesses and nonprofit organizations, only the legislation was not approved.

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California

- Minimum wage: $12.00 ($24,960 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 developed: $18.66 ($6.66 difference)
--- one developed and 1 child: $40.34 ($28.34 departure)
--- two adults: $15.13 ($3.13 difference)
--- ii adults and one kid: $21.76 ($9.76 difference)

California'due south minimum wage is now $14 an hour, $13 an hr for companies with fewer than 25 employees, and volition rising through 2023 to $15 an hour. After that information technology is to be adapted annually. In addition, cities in California can gear up their own wage regulations. In Los Angeles, the minimum wage has been prepare at $15 an hour since 2020. One reason for the high cost of living in California is housing prices: For a typical family, rent accounts for at least 30% of income in more than 2-thirds of the state'southward cipher codes.

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Colorado

- Minimum wage: $12.00 ($24,960 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 developed: $16.35 ($iv.35 divergence)
--- i developed and 1 child: $34.31 ($22.31 difference)
--- ii adults: $12.91 ($0.91 difference)
--- ii adults and 1 child: $eighteen.65 ($6.65 difference)

Colorado raised its minimum wage to $12.32 in January. An amendment to the state'south constitution in 2017 upped the charge per unit to $9.xxx an hour, with annual increases of xc cents until it reached $12. Now it is adapted each year for cost-of-living increases. College prices for energy and other items except for nutrient drove up the cost of living in the Denver area at the beginning of 2021, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Connecticut

- Minimum wage: $12.00 ($24,960 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $15.98 ($3.98 departure)
--- ane developed and ane kid: $33.11 ($21.11 difference)
--- two adults: $12.75 ($0.75 difference)
--- 2 adults and one child: $17.98 ($5.98 difference)

Connecticut's minimum hourly wage is rising gradually over the side by side several years, climbing to $xiv in 2022 and $15 in 2023. Connecticut Voices for Children, a think tank based in the state, warns that families relying on those jobs will lose more than than one-half of the increases because they will potentially lose benefits from the state. It is urging the legislators to expand Medicaid and take other steps to help poor families.

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Delaware

- Minimum wage: $9.25 ($19,240 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $xv.32 ($6.07 divergence)
--- 1 adult and i child: $32.17 ($22.92 difference)
--- 2 adults: $12.33 ($3.08 difference)
--- two adults and 1 child: $17.5 ($8.25 difference)

Housing can be expensive in Delaware, with both home values and rental costs higher than the national median. The state'southward minimum wage has been $ix.25 since 2019, but volition increase to $ten.50 on Jan. 1, 2022. In 2024, information technology is set to rise to $13.25 and in 2025 information technology volition attain $15.

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Washington DC

- Minimum wage: $13.25 ($27,560 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- one developed: $xx.12 ($half-dozen.87 difference)
--- i adult and one child: $38.48 ($25.23 difference)
--- two adults: $xiv.88 ($1.63 difference)
--- two adults and 1 child: $xx.69 ($7.44 deviation)

The Consumer Price Alphabetize in the area increased 0.7% at the beginning of 2021, co-ordinate to the U.Southward. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Driving the rise was an increment in energy costs, both for heating and for gasoline. Food costs roughshod. The Commune of Columbia'due south minimum wage, currently $xv an hour, rises to $15.twenty in July 2021.

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Florida

- Minimum wage: $8.56 ($17,805 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $xiv.82 ($6.26 departure)
--- 1 adult and 1 child: $xxx.92 ($22.36 difference)
--- ii adults: $xi.99 ($3.43 difference)
--- 2 adults and 1 child: $16.77 ($viii.21 difference)

Florida's voters in 2020 approved raising the minimum wage each year until it reaches $xv an 60 minutes in 2026. Then information technology volition rise with inflation. Business groups warned the increases would destroy the country's economy, but more lx% of voters canonical the modify. At the time Florida was the eighth state in the country to programme for an increase to $15 an hr. The state'due south boilerplate income is 87.four% of the national boilerplate.

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Georgia

- Minimum wage: $7.25 ($15,080 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $15.36 ($8.xi difference)
--- 1 adult and 1 child: $29.63 ($22.38 difference)
--- ii adults: $12.06 ($iv.81 difference)
--- 2 adults and i child: $16.22 ($8.97 difference)

Georgia's minimum wage is only $v.15 an hour, and so with few exceptions, the federal rate applies. A history professor at the Academy of Georgia, James Cobb, told Atlanta's public radio station WABE in 2019 that the low rate showed that the state prioritized businesses over workers. The president of the bourgeois Georgia Public Policy Foundation disagreed, and said that it enabled companies to hire more workers. Georgia had the eighth-lowest cost of living in the land in 2020, according to the Missouri Economical Research and Information Center.

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Hawaii

- Minimum wage: $ten.10 ($21,008 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 developed: $19.43 ($9.33 difference)
--- 1 adult and ane child: $38.57 ($28.47 difference)
--- ii adults: $fifteen.06 ($iv.96 departure)
--- 2 adults and i child: $20.85 ($x.75 difference)

Hawaii's minimum wage could become upwards to $12 an hour in 2022. The land had the highest price of living in the country in 2020. What makes information technology so expensive? The biggest reason was the cost of housing, which is near 3 times that of the residual of the Us. The isle lifestyle comes at a cost.

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Idaho

- Minimum wage: $7.25 ($xv,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- ane developed: $13.95 ($6.70 difference)
--- 1 adult and 1 child: $27.94 ($20.69 departure)
--- ii adults: $11.67 ($4.42 difference)
--- 2 adults and i child: $15.52 ($8.27 departure)

Idaho is one of 13 states with the aforementioned minimum wage as the federal regime. A Democratic lawmaker from Boise, state Sen. Grant Burgoyne, proposed raising the rate to $15 an 60 minutes by July 2023, arguing that many residents are struggling financially. Others counter that pocket-size businesses would exist harmed by the increase. A move to go an initiative to raise the rate on the November election in 2020 was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic. Idaho had the 19th-lowest cost of living in 2020.

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Illinois

- Minimum wage: $10.00 ($20,800 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $15.37 ($5.37 difference)
--- 1 adult and ane kid: $31.16 ($21.16 difference)
--- 2 adults: $12.29 ($2.29 difference)
--- 2 adults and 1 child: $16.98 ($6.98 difference)

Illinois' minimum wage will rise gradually to reach $15 in 2025. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation dictating the increases in 2019. Before the 2020 increase, the state had gone a decade without raising its rate.

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Indiana

- Minimum wage: $7.25 ($15,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $13.44 ($6.nineteen divergence)
--- i adult and 1 kid: $27.23 ($19.98 difference)
--- 2 adults: $11.08 ($3.83 difference)
--- 2 adults and 1 child: $14.99 ($7.74 departure)

Indiana has the same minimum wage equally the federal government. Information technology is in the top ten states for the everyman cost of living. A Autonomous senator from Gary, Sen. Eddie Melton, wants to enhance the state's rate to $10 an 60 minutes. It has not changed since 2009, while the cost of living has risen 20% in that fourth dimension.

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Iowa

- Minimum wage: $7.25 ($fifteen,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $thirteen.62 ($six.37 departure)
--- 1 adult and ane kid: $29.xviii ($21.93 difference)
--- 2 adults: $11.57 ($four.32 difference)
--- ii adults and 1 child: $xvi.04 ($eight.79 difference)

Iowa's minimum wage also matches the federal government's. In 2017, the country'southward legislature blocked minimum rate hikes in five Iowa counties. The law prevents cities or counties from passing minimum wages that are higher than the land. Iowa's toll of living was the twelfth everyman in the country in 2020.

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Kansas

- Minimum wage: $7.25 ($xv,080 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $xiii.51 ($6.26 divergence)
--- ane developed and i child: $28.39 ($21.14 difference)
--- ii adults: $11.27 ($four.02 departure)
--- two adults and 1 child: $15.59 ($viii.34 difference)

Kansas too has the same minimum wage as the federal government and its price of living in 2020 was nigh the lowest in the country. Information technology was second only to Mississippi. At the beginning of 2021, a grouping of Democrats proposed more than doubling the rate over six years, to $15 an 60 minutes. The state government in Kansas is controlled by Republicans.

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Kentucky

- Minimum wage: $seven.25 ($fifteen,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $13.48 ($half-dozen.23 difference)
--- ane adult and 1 child: $28.25 ($21.00 deviation)
--- 2 adults: $eleven.09 ($3.84 divergence)
--- 2 adults and 1 kid: $xv.53 ($8.28 difference)

Kentucky's minimum wage has remained unchanged for more than a decade. Ane Democratic country legislator, Sen. Reggie Thomas of Lexington, has proposed raising information technology to $15 an hour by 2026. As for the price of living, it ranked the 18th everyman in the land in 2020.

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Louisiana

- Minimum wage: $vii.25 ($15,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- one adult: $14.06 ($half dozen.81 deviation)
--- one adult and 1 child: $29.61 ($22.36 difference)
--- two adults: $11.64 ($4.39 divergence)
--- 2 adults and 1 kid: $16.21 ($8.96 difference)

Louisiana is one of five states with no minimum wage and the federal charge per unit therefore applies. The state has the second-highest percentage of workers in the land paid the minimum wage. Louisiana had the 17th lowest cost of living in the country in 2020. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards wants an increase in that amount and called $7.25 insufficient. He expects local officials to push for an increment, likewise.

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Maine

- Minimum wage: $12.00 ($24,960 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $14.92 ($2.92 deviation)
--- 1 developed and 1 kid: $30.63 ($18.63 difference)
--- 2 adults: $11.94
--- ii adults and 1 child: $16.79 ($4.79 difference)

Maine had the 13th highest cost of living in 2020. The country's minimum wage rose to $12.15 an hour at the beginning of 2021, and at present requires yearly adjustments to the minimum wage based on the cost of living. In each of the past three years, the minimum wage rose $ane.

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Maryland

- Minimum wage: $11.00 ($22,880 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- ane adult: $17.25 ($half dozen.25 deviation)
--- 1 adult and 1 kid: $34.74 ($23.74 difference)
--- 2 adults: $xiii.33 ($two.33 difference)
--- 2 adults and one child: $18.75 ($seven.75 departure)

Every bit of 2021, Maryland's minimum wage stands at $11.75 an hour and volition increase to $15 past 2025. In 2019, lawmakers overrode a veto by Gov. Larry Hogan to authorize the enhance. Maryland was the sixth state to vote to phase in a $fifteen minimum wage. About 573,000 workers in Maryland earn less than that, according to the National Employment Law Project, or about 22% of the workforce.

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Massachusetts

- Minimum wage: $12.75 ($26,520 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $17.74 ($four.99 difference)
--- i adult and ane child: $36.88 ($24.13 difference)
--- ii adults: $thirteen.12 ($0.37 departure)
--- 2 adults and 1 child: $19.78 ($7.03 deviation)

Massachusetts' minimum wage is $13.50 an hour as of January 2021 and volition rising again to $14.25 in 2022 and $xv in 2023. The state'due south legislature passed the $15 rate in 2018 every bit part of a bill that besides established a paid family and medical go out policy. A CNBC study in 2018 constitute the state was the third most expensive place to live in the U.Southward., with the median toll for a domicile in the Boston area 70% higher than the state as a whole.

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Michigan

- Minimum wage: $9.65 ($20,072 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 developed: $xiii.63 ($3.98 difference)
--- i adult and 1 child: $31.15 ($21.50 difference)
--- 2 adults: $11.1 ($1.45 difference)
--- ii adults and i kid: $sixteen.96 ($7.31 difference)

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed helping to pay Michigan workers $15 an hour with $300 million in federal coin. The state would create grants for businesses to cover the difference between their workers' salary and $xv an hour. Michigan had expected to raise its charge per unit in 2021, but land law prohibited the increment because the unemployment rate was above viii.v%.

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Minnesota

- Minimum wage: $10.00 ($xx,800 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $fourteen.9 ($iv.90 difference)
--- one developed and i kid: $31.33 ($21.33 difference)
--- two adults: $12.32 ($ii.32 difference)
--- two adults and i child: $17.1 ($7.10 departure)

The cost of living in Minnesota is about average in Minnesota, where the minimum wage increased to $10.08 in January 2021 and will rise once again to $xiv.25 in July 2021 and $xv in 2022. After that, the increment will be linked to inflation. Rates are lower for small-scale businesses with 100 or fewer employees.

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Mississippi

- Minimum wage: $7.25 ($15,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $13.43 ($6.18 difference)
--- 1 adult and ane child: $26.74 ($19.49 difference)
--- two adults: $11.28 ($4.03 difference)
--- two adults and 1 kid: $fourteen.75 ($seven.l deviation)

Mississippi, similar its neighbors, does not have a minimum wage then the federal rate is in effect in the state. Information technology had the lowest toll of living in the land in 2020. Some lawmakers in the state are calling for a minimum wage law that would raise the rate to $15 over iv years. Gov. Tate Reeves announced in May 2021 that the country would discontinue the supplemental federal unemployment benefits available because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Missouri

- Minimum wage: $9.45 ($xix,656 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 developed: $13.72 ($4.27 difference)
--- 1 developed and one child: $28.65 ($nineteen.20 difference)
--- 2 adults: $11.48 ($two.03 divergence)
--- two adults and i kid: $15.74 ($half-dozen.29 divergence)

Missouri's minimum wage increased to $10.30 an hour in 2021 and will ultimately reach $12 an hour in 2023, still falling brusque of the electric current requirements for a living wage in the state. The raises are amid a serial of increases over five years that voters approved overwhelmingly in 2018.

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Montana

- Minimum wage: $8.65 ($17,992 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 developed: $thirteen.94 ($5.29 difference)
--- 1 developed and 1 child: $29.63 ($20.98 departure)
--- ii adults: $11.53 ($2.88 difference)
--- ii adults and i child: $sixteen.35 ($7.lxx difference)

Montana's minimum wage rose to $8.75 an hour in January 2021. It is adjusted annually for inflation, a protection that voters approved as a ballot initiative in 2006. Upwardly to x,000 workers in the country were paid less than $eight.75 in 2020 and are expected to get raises as a event of the increment. The food and hotel industry had the largest number of minimum wage workers in 2019.

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Nebraska

- Minimum wage: $9.00 ($xviii,720 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $13.57 ($4.57 departure)
--- i developed and 1 child: $29.31 ($xx.31 difference)
--- 2 adults: $11.65 ($2.65 difference)
--- 2 adults and i child: $xvi.08 ($7.08 difference)

An Omaha lawmaker in 2021 proposed raising the minimum wage to $20 an hour, increasing the charge per unit $1 a year until 2032. Sen. Terry McKinney said the college pay was needed to go on workers in the state. Opponents said businesses could non afford the hike.

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Nevada

- Minimum wage: $8.00 ($xvi,640 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $13.67 ($five.67 departure)
--- 1 adult and 1 kid: $28.98 ($20.98 difference)
--- 2 adults: $xi.48 ($3.48 departure)
--- 2 adults and 1 child: $15.91 ($seven.91 difference)

Nevada will raise its minimum wage past 75 cents a year through 2024, reaching $ix.75 in 2021. The state has a two-tier system, withal: If employees receive wellness benefits, the minimum wage is lower.

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New Hampshire

- Minimum wage: $vii.25 ($15,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $14.47 ($seven.22 divergence)
--- ane adult and 1 child: $xxx.07 ($22.82 difference)
--- two adults: $11.45 ($4.xx difference)
--- two adults and 1 child: $16.37 ($9.12 difference)

New Hampshire is unusual amidst New England states in that its minimum wage is prepare at the federal one. Its neighbors all have rates that are $11.50 an hour, with Massachusetts the highest. The New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Plant notes that the country workers making the minimum wage autumn below the federal poverty guidelines except for a single person.

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New Bailiwick of jersey

- Minimum wage: $eleven.00 ($22,880 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $xvi.2 ($5.twenty divergence)
--- 1 adult and 1 child: $35.93 ($24.93 deviation)
--- 2 adults: $13.19 ($2.19 deviation)
--- 2 adults and ane child: $19.half dozen ($8.60 deviation)

A law that New Bailiwick of jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed in 2019 raises the minimum wage gradually to $15 an hour in 2024. It reached $12 per hour on Jan. 1, 2021. Small and seasonal businesses and agronomical employers have more fourth dimension to encounter the rates.

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New United mexican states

- Minimum wage: $9.00 ($xviii,720 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 developed: $13.97 ($4.97 difference)
--- 1 adult and ane kid: $28.65 ($19.65 divergence)
--- 2 adults: $11.66 ($2.66 difference)
--- 2 adults and 1 child: $15.82 ($6.82 divergence)

New Mexico'southward minimum wage increased to $x.50 an hour on Jan. 1, 2021, and will ascension once again to $eleven.50 in 2022 and to $12.00 an hour in 2023. Cities and counties may have their own rates. Santa Fe, for example, has ready its rate at $12.10 an 60 minutes. New Mexico had the seventh-lowest cost of living in 2020.

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New York

- Minimum wage: $11.fourscore ($24,544 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- i developed: $xviii.62 ($6.82 divergence)
--- 1 adult and 1 child: $36 ($24.20 departure)
--- two adults: $13.73 ($i.93 deviation)
--- 2 adults and one child: $19.5 ($7.seventy difference)

In New York, the minimum wage was $12.50 an hour for most of the land as of Dec. 31, 2020. Merely in New York Urban center, information technology had been $15 since the end of 2019; in its suburbs of Westchester County and Long Island, it was $14. Fast-nutrient workers have a dissever pay scale: $15 in New York City and $14.50 in the rest of the state, to rise to $15 past July one, 2021. New York comes in third in the ranking of the highest toll of living in 2020 and New York City'due south Manhattan borough topped the list of most expensive urban areas in 2021.

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North Carolina

- Minimum wage: $vii.25 ($fifteen,080 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- i adult: $14.72 ($7.47 difference)
--- 1 developed and 1 child: $30.09 ($22.84 difference)
--- 2 adults: $11.66 ($4.41 difference)
--- two adults and 1 child: $16.45 ($ix.20 departure)

Legislation reintroduced in 2021 would increase N Carolina's minimum wage to $fifteen an hour by 2023 and index it to the cost of living. The bill, if passed, would also discontinue the beneath-minimum wage for persons with disabilities and workers who receive tips, and do away with exemptions for agricultural workers and domestic workers.

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North Dakota

- Minimum wage: $vii.25 ($xv,080 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $13.08 ($5.83 deviation)
--- i adult and i child: $27.73 ($20.48 difference)
--- ii adults: $10.86 ($3.61 difference)
--- 2 adults and 1 child: $15.22 ($7.97 difference)

Due north Dakota's minimum wage matches the federal rate, which makes the state an outlier from its neighbors. South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota accept enacted minimum wages that are higher than the federal one, and they are adjusted annually. An attempt to enhance the charge per unit to $15 an hour by 2027 died in the legislature in early 2021.

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Ohio

- Minimum wage: $8.lxx ($18,096 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- i adult: $13.xvi ($4.46 departure)
--- 1 adult and 1 child: $28.58 ($nineteen.88 difference)
--- 2 adults: $ten.94 ($two.24 divergence)
--- 2 adults and ane child: $15.66 ($vi.96 divergence)

Some Ohio legislators are trying to enhance the minimum wage gradually to $fifteen an hour past 2027. Subsequently, information technology would keep pace with inflation as the Ohio constitution demands. They argue it would improve productivity and spur spending.

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Oklahoma

- Minimum wage: $7.25 ($fifteen,080 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $thirteen.53 ($6.28 difference)
--- 1 adult and 1 child: $28.23 ($20.98 divergence)
--- 2 adults: $11.25 ($4.00 difference)
--- 2 adults and 1 kid: $15.5 ($8.25 divergence)

The final fourth dimension Oklahoma's state minimum rate was increased was in 2008. In Oklahoma City, the state's largest urban center, the cost of housing is most xx% below the national average, according to a ranking by Kiplinger. Every bit in other states, a lawmaker is trying to raise the minimum rate, in this case to $10.fifty an hour.

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Oregon

- Minimum wage: $12.00 ($24,960 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $16.85 ($four.85 difference)
--- 1 adult and 1 child: $33.07 ($21.07 deviation)
--- 2 adults: $13.26 ($ane.26 difference)
--- 2 adults and 1 child: $18.11 ($6.eleven difference)

Oregon's minimum wage is to rise every yr until information technology reaches $13.l in 2022. After that, it will be adjusted annually based on the Consumer Cost Alphabetize. The rate varies depending on location but is more often than not higher in urban areas.

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Pennsylvania

- Minimum wage: $7.25 ($15,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $thirteen.39 ($6.xiv difference)
--- 1 developed and 1 child: $27.57 ($twenty.32 difference)
--- 2 adults: $10.77 ($iii.52 difference)
--- 2 adults and 1 child: $15.12 ($7.87 difference)

Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, is calling for an increment to $12 an hour on July 1, 2021, followed by annual increases of fifty cents until the rate reaches $15 per hour in 2027. The incomes of more than one.i million residents of the state would ascension. A poll from Franklin & Marshall College in March 2021 establish support for $12 an hour amidst 67% of voters.

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Rhode Island

- Minimum wage: $x.50 ($21,840 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- one adult: $14.79 ($4.29 difference)
--- 1 adult and one child: $30.63 ($xx.13 difference)
--- 2 adults: $11.7 ($1.20 divergence)
--- two adults and 1 child: $16.73 ($6.23 difference)

Rhode Island's minimum wage is rising to $15 an hour over the next iv years under legislation signed by Gov. Dan McKee in May 2021. He said the land estimated the increase would raise wages for nearly 70,000 workers by 2022, and for near 140,000 workers past 2025. Lawmakers said the minimum wage has not kept upwards with inflation.

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South Carolina

- Minimum wage: $seven.25 ($fifteen,080 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $14.58 ($7.33 deviation)
--- 1 developed and 1 child: $29.81 ($22.56 difference)
--- 2 adults: $12.07 ($four.82 difference)
--- two adults and 1 child: $16.33 ($9.08 divergence)

South Carolina has no minimum wage of its own. Sen. Katrina Shealy, a Republican lawmaker from Lexington, wants to end an exemption that enables employers to pay workers with disabilities less than the minimum wage. Some advocates oppose the proposal, saying not all of the employees can work competitively just enjoy their jobs.

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S Dakota

- Minimum wage: $ix.30 ($19,344 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $12.61 ($3.31 difference)
--- 1 adult and 1 child: $27.06 ($17.76 difference)
--- 2 adults: $10.65 ($1.35 difference)
--- ii adults and ane child: $14.84 ($5.54 difference)

S Dakota'southward minimum wage rose slightly in 2021 to $nine.45 an hour, while tipped employees—eligible for half the rate—saw their minimum wage rates ascent to $4.72 an hour. The rate is linked to the cost of living as measured past the federal Department of Labor'south Consumer Price Index.

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Tennessee

- Minimum wage: $7.25 ($15,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $thirteen.25 ($vi.00 difference)
--- i developed and 1 child: $26.3 ($19.05 divergence)
--- two adults: $10.72 ($3.47 difference)
--- 2 adults and 1 child: $14.45 ($seven.20 divergence)

Some Tennessee lawmakers desire to create a state minimum wage—the state currently uses the federal charge per unit. A proposal submitted in March would increment the rate to $12 an hour by 2025. A bill introduced at the beginning of 2020 would have upped it to $15 an hour.

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Texas

- Minimum wage: $7.25 ($fifteen,080 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 developed: $14.01 ($half dozen.76 difference)
--- i adult and one child: $28.68 ($21.43 deviation)
--- 2 adults: $11.32 ($4.07 difference)
--- 2 adults and 1 kid: $15.64 ($8.39 difference)

Texas' minimum wage is at the federal level. Democrats take tried to raise it, only Republicans dominating the legislature have blocked those efforts. If the minimum wage was raised to $15 an hour, the wages of some 4.5 million Texans could increase, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Opponents argue businesses would exist hurt. Vii Texas cities made Kiplinger'southward 2020 list of the 25 cheapest U.S. cities to live in, with McAllen securing the top spot.

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Utah

- Minimum wage: $7.25 ($15,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- i developed: $14.52 ($7.27 departure)
--- 1 developed and 1 kid: $29.56 ($22.31 difference)
--- 2 adults: $11.99 ($4.74 deviation)
--- 2 adults and ane child: $16.28 ($nine.03 difference)

More than 48% of Utah residents have jobs that pay less than $15 an hr, while 35.4% make less than $12 an hour. Two lawmakers have introduced bills to increase the minimum wage in stages until reaching $15 an hour by 2026, and peg the charge per unit to urban or rural areas.

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Vermont

- Minimum wage: $x.96 ($22,797 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- i adult: $xiv.93 ($3.97 difference)
--- 1 adult and 1 child: $31.77 ($20.81 divergence)
--- 2 adults: $12.18 ($1.22 difference)
--- 2 adults and i child: $17.34 ($6.38 difference)

Vermont'southward minimum wage rose 79 cents in 2021, to $11.75. The Vermont Legislature voted to increase the minimum wage in the land past $1.59 over the two years. In 2022, it volition switch back to existence pegged to the Consumer Price Index. As for cost of living, Vermont Public Radio institute that in 2018, residents spent more on groceries than whatsoever other country, according to the U.S. Agency of Economic Analysis. Just on taxes, Vermont is beneath the U.S. average for middle- and depression-income people.

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Virginia

- Minimum wage: $7.25 ($15,080 almanac)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $16.61 ($9.36 difference)
--- 1 adult and 1 kid: $32.eight ($25.55 difference)
--- 2 adults: $12.57 ($v.32 difference)
--- two adults and 1 child: $17.78 ($10.53 deviation)

Virginia's minimum wage rose to $9.fifty an hour in May 2021, the first of iii increases that volition culminate at $12 an hour in 2023. The increment became possible afterwards Democrats gained the bulk in the state legislature. Some businesses worried that the increases will forcefulness them to lay off workers. Republicans opposed the move.

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Washington

- Minimum wage: $13.l ($28,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $16.34 ($two.84 difference)
--- 1 adult and one kid: $31.95 ($xviii.45 difference)
--- 2 adults: $12.33
--- ii adults and 1 kid: $17.39 ($3.89 difference)

Washington's minimum wage increased slightly in 2021 to $thirteen.69 an hour, although Seattle's is higher at $16.69 an hour. Washington voters approved raising the minimum rate to $13.50 in 2020. After that, adjustments are based on the Consumer Price Index. A trial has begun to determine whether detainees who piece of work at a for-profit immigration detention centre in Washington country must be paid minimum wage.

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Westward Virginia

- Minimum wage: $8.75 ($18,200 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- i adult: $13.38 ($4.63 difference)
--- i adult and 1 child: $28.2 ($19.45 divergence)
--- two adults: $11.17 ($2.42 difference)
--- 2 adults and one child: $fifteen.half dozen ($6.85 difference)

West Virginia'south modest business concern owners are worried almost a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage, unconvinced that they could raise prices enough to cover the difference. The state has one of the highest poverty rates in the country, at sixteen%, and low wages. Half of all workers in West Virginia make less than $15 an hour. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, has come out against the increase.

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Wisconsin

- Minimum wage: $vii.25 ($fifteen,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- 1 adult: $14.02 ($six.77 difference)
--- 1 adult and 1 kid: $30.17 ($22.92 difference)
--- 2 adults: $xi.49 ($4.24 difference)
--- 2 adults and one child: $16.51 ($ix.26 divergence)

Wisconsin'southward minimum wage is at the federal level, different its neighbors Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Iowa, however, has stayed at the same rate. As in other states, a higher charge per unit is under give-and-take. An economics professor at the Academy of Wisconsin-Madison, Tim Smeeding, told Wisconsin Public Radio that a federal rate of $fifteen an 60 minutes would exist too high all at once. He advocates raising it in stages.

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Wyoming

- Minimum wage: $vii.25 ($fifteen,080 annual)
- Living wage for:
--- ane developed: $13.19 ($5.94 difference)
--- 1 adult and 1 kid: $27.53 ($20.28 difference)
--- two adults: $10.83 ($3.58 difference)
--- ii adults and one child: $15.18 ($7.93 deviation)

Wyoming's minimum wage is $five.15 an 60 minutes and so the college federal rate prevails. A lawmaker in March 2021 proposed raising the charge per unit to $15 an hour. The Casper Star-Tribune noted that Wyoming'southward low minimum tied with Georgia'southward, merely also that in 2019 lawmakers shot downward an attempt to heighten the rate to $eight.l.

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