Happy 15th Birthday to the Current Federal Minimum Wage
I wish I was kidding.
The last time the Federal Minimum Wage was increased was in 2009. As such, this year, 2024, nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st century, the nationwide minimum wage of $7.25 has not gone up in fifteen years.
Fifteen years.
Okay, so I’m a few months early — the most recent increase went into effect on July 24, 2009, so I’m a little more than two months ahead of schedule here, but I just couldn’t wait to wish America’s poverty wage a joyous birthday celebration.
So, for this (early) birthday celebration, here are a few facts and other tidbits about the minimum wage in America.
Currently, 30 states (plus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage. That leaves 20 states (plus the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa) in which the federal minimum is in effect. This is because they either have a minimum wage that is equal to the federal minimum, have no minimum wage law in place (in which case the federal minimum is in effect), or have a minimum wage that is less than the federal minimum (in which case the federal minimum supersedes those laws).
