US States With the Highest State Minimum Wages

46 US states ranked by state minimum wage, from highest to lowest. First are District of Columbia (17), Washington (15.7) and California (15.5). The middle one of the 46 has 11.

What this measures

The lowest hourly pay the state's own law allowed on 1 January of the year (in February for 1968 and 1972), from the US Department of Labor. Where the law set more than one rate, such as a lower one for small businesses, the highest rate is shown. It is blank where the state had no minimum wage law, or set only a weekly or daily one. Some states' rates are below the federal minimum, which then applies instead. Source: US Department of Labor, state minimum wage history.

For most measures, a national ranking mostly sorts places by income and by how urban they are. Each county’s own page compares it with the 50 counties most like it instead, which is often the fairer view.

Every state

Rank	State	US$ per hour
1	District of Columbia	17
2	Washington	15.7
3	California	15.5
4	Massachusetts	15
5	Connecticut	15
6	New York	14.2
7	Oregon	14.2
8	New Jersey	14.1
9	Arizona	13.8
10	Maine	13.8
11	Colorado	13.7
12	Maryland	13.3
13	Vermont	13.2
14	Illinois	13
15	Rhode Island	13
16	Florida	12
17	Hawaii	12
18	Missouri	12
19	New Mexico	12
20	Virginia	12
21	Delaware	11.8
22	Nevada	11.3
23	Arkansas	11
24	Alaska	10.8
25	South Dakota	10.8
26	Minnesota	10.6
27	Nebraska	10.5
28	Michigan	10.1
29	Ohio	10.1
30	Montana	9.95
31	West Virginia	8.75
32	Idaho	7.25
33	Indiana	7.25
34	Iowa	7.25
35	Kansas	7.25
36	Kentucky	7.25
37	New Hampshire	7.25
38	North Carolina	7.25
39	North Dakota	7.25
40	Oklahoma	7.25
41	Pennsylvania	7.25
42	Texas	7.25
43	Utah	7.25
44	Wisconsin	7.25
45	Georgia	5.15
46	Wyoming	5.15

More on state minimum wage

A ranking describes places, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All US rankings.