For minimum-wage workers, Philadelphia is one of the U.S. cities where it’s most difficult to make ends meet.
Philadelphia has the fourth lowest “real minimum wage,” according to a recent study by SmartAsset, a personal finance website.
The study recorded the minimum wage in 79 cities, adjusted that wage to account for the cost of living in each city, and ranked them.
Minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7.25 per hour, matching the federal rate. Philadelphia is bound by the state’s minimum wage law. Adjusted for cost of living, that comes out to about $6.69 per hour, SmartAsset found.
The only cities that ranked lower than Philadelphia were New Orleans ($6.54); Plano, Texas ($6.47); and Honolulu ($6.47).
Across the state in Pittsburgh, the minimum wage is the same as in Philadelphia, but the cost of living is lower, making for a real minimum wage of $7.20.
Pennsylvania is one of 20 states where the minimum wage is not higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25, which was set in 2009.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was inaugurated Tuesday, wants to change that. He has advocated for raising the minimum wage to at least $15 per hour.
Shapiro’s predecessor, Tom Wolf, also wanted to raise the minimum wage, urging the state legislature to pass bills introduced by Democratic lawmakers. Neither bill made it to a vote last session, but Wolf did raise the minimum wage for state workers to $15 per hour last year, using an executive order that does not require legislative approval.
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