Federal Minimum Wage (United States)

The United States federal minimum wage has been 7.25 dollars per hour since 2009, with about thirty states and many cities setting higher floors.

Overview

The longest freeze in the federal rate's history has let inflation erode its purchasing power by roughly a third since 2009. Roughly thirty states plus DC and dozens of cities now set higher minimums, several indexed to inflation, and the tipped federal floor of 2.13 dollars has not moved since 1991. Economists still contest employment effects of higher floors, with studies of city-level raises finding small to mixed impacts. The result is a patchwork where the same job pays different minimums across state lines. Figures are current federal law.