As of January 1, the Seattle minimum wage has been raised to $19.97 an hour. This makes the Seattle minimum wage the highest of any major city in the US. It applies to workers at large companies such as Starbucks.
This new minimum wage amounts to $40,000 a year for a full-time worker. The median rent in Seattle is currently around $2,000 a month. According to David Rolf, a $19.97 minimum wage is not enough for Seattle’s current cost of living. As Rolf explained to KUOW:
According to the Massachusetts Institute for Technology’s living wage calculator, a single adult living alone in metropolitan Seattle would need $21.48 per hour for the basics, and a single adult with one child living alone would need $41.22.
Curious about the “major city” caveat? Tukwila, WA now has the highest minimum wage of any city in the US at $20.29 for large businesses.
There are 25 U.S. states (plus Washington, D.C.) getting a minimum wage hike in 2024. The Washington state minimum wage will be the highest for any state in the country at $16.28. Just behind WA are California and New York at $16 and Connecticut, New Jersey, and Maryland will all offer at least $15.
Meanwhile the 20 remaining states will stay at the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 per hour since 2009.