This story was originally posted by Stateline, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Low-wage workers in more than a dozen states — and many more cities — could get unexpectedly large raises next year, thanks to minimum wage increases that will reflect soaring consumer prices.
Denver’s minimum wage, which is indexed to consumer prices in the metro area, will increase from $15.87 to $17.29 an hour starting Jan. 1. Colorado’s minimum wage, which is indexed to the same measure, will likely increase from $12.56 to $13.64 an hour, according to Stateline’s calculations.
Of the 13 states and Washington, D.C., that will index their wage floors to inflation next year, only Minnesota and California have announced their new numbers. Their increases will be relatively small, as both states limit the yearly percent change in their minimum wage.
Minnesota’s minimum will rise from $10.33 an hour to $10.59 an hour for large employers and from $8.42 an hour to $8.63 an hour for small employers. California’s minimum will rise from $15.00 to $15.50.
In other states, the increases are likely to be much larger.
Consumer prices rose more than 8% from July 2021 to July 2022. By using July consumer price data as a rough estimate, Stateline calculates that minimum wages could rise by about $1 an hour in many states, including Arizona, Ohio and South Dakota.
Many states use data published by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics in the fall to calculate their minimum wages. Colorado’s...
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