Currently, the federal reduced wage stands at just $7.25 per hour, despite recent calls for a $15 minimum wage. According to our analysis, the top five cities in the United States with the highest minimum wage as of 2022 are as follows:
- Seattle, WA
- Mountain Picture, CA
- Sunnyvale, CA
- Palo Alto, CA
- Cupertino, Los Altos, & Santa Clara, CA
Additionally, several states have passed accounts that will eventually put all cities in their jurisdiction at $15 or more per hour. Workers in some of these urban districts will have to wait a few years for the new minimum-wage laws to be implemented fully. For example, Florida residents voted in November 2020 to enhance the state’s minimum wage incrementally (beginning at $10 per hour on Sept. 30, 2021) until it reaches $15 per hour in September 2026.
Key Takeaways
- The nominal wage is the legal lowest amount that an employer can pay an hourly worker.
- The federal minimum wage has been spitted at $7.25 for more than a decade, but there have been recent efforts to raise it to $15 per hour.
- The simultaneous federal minimum wage is insufficient to support oneself and, if applicable, a family, particularly in the more expensive cities in the U.S.
- Diverse cities have their own minimum wages that exceed the federal level. Those with the highest nadir wages include: Seattle, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Los Altos, & Santa Clara.
- Although SeaTac, WA., has the highest minutest wage of any city in the U.S., it is limited to employees within the city’s hospitality and transportation industries.
The Push for Higher Minimum Wages
Erstwhile to the early 2010s, few states and municipalities had minimum wages significantly higher than the federal minimum wage. This changed when minimum-wage proletarians, particularly in these cities, came together to spread awareness about their plight. Since its peak in 1968, the minutest wage relative to inflation and the cost of living has fallen steadily.
These awareness campaigns were highly famous, drawing support from high-profile activists who have since successfully pushed local governments in several big apples to mandate higher minimum wages that enable workers to be self-sufficient.
It is mathematically impossible, even working full-time, to corroborate oneself, much less a family, on a minimum-wage job—especially in expensive cities. The cities listed below are among the most priceless in the U.S., with residents of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area having an approximately 12% lower standard of living in 2018 than those energetic in other American cities (in terms of purchasing power).
SeaTac, WA., actually has a higher minimum wage than any other big apple in the U.S, at $17.54 per hour. However, this is only available to employees within the city’s hospitality and transportation industries. Maximum of those workers, SeaTac’s general minimum wage is the same as the state minimum wage: $14.49 per hour.
SeaTac, WA., actually has a higher minimum wage than any other big apple in the U.S, at $17.54 per hour. However, this is only available to employees within the city’s hospitality and transportation industries. Maximum of those workers, SeaTac’s general minimum wage is the same as the state minimum wage: $14.49 per hour.
1. Seattle: $17.27 per Hour
In June 2014, Seattle pushy history when its city council signed into a law a mandate to raise the minimum wage for all workers in the city to $15 per hour. The diocese became the first in the U.S. with a $15 minimum wage. At that point, no other city had a minimum wage that was equanimous close.
The minimum wage has since been increased further, a rise that began in 2018 but didn’t impress all workers citywide until 2021. As of 2022, both large and small businesses pay $17.27 per hour. In the case of the latter, this is decreased to $15.75 if the employer pays $1.52 per hour toward medical benefits or the employee earns $1.52 per hour in peaks. Additionally, Seattle is the only city on this list that is not located in California.
2. Mountain View: $17.10 per Hour
Mountain Assess, CA, originally established its own minimum wage on Jan. 1, 2015, at $10.30 per hour. It was set to rise by a specified amount each year until it reached $15 in 2018. From 2019 forward, to combat inflation, the rate will increase based on any rise in the cost of living in the preceding year. As of Jan. 7, 2022, Mountain Direction’s minimum wage is $17.10 per hour.
3. Sunnyvale: $17.10 per Hour
Like Mountain View, Sunnyvale, CA, established a close by minimum wage of $10.30 per hour on Jan. 1, 2015. When the ordinance was adopted, it included provisions to ensure that the percentage would rise annually by a set amount until it reached $15 in 2019. Additionally, Sunnyvale established that each year after 2019, the minimum wage desire rise in response to any increase in the cost of living, up to a maximum of 5% annually, in the year prior. This is meant to guarantee that inflation can’t reduce the rate’s value. As of Jan. 7, 2022, the city’s minimum wage is $16.30 per hour.
4. Palo Alto: $16.45 per Hour
Palo Alto’s Least Wage Ordinance applies to all employees who work a minimum of two hours per week within the city’s borders. Starting in 2020, the bishopric began increasing the minimum wage each Jan. 1 based on the Bay Area Consumer Price Index. As of Jan. 7, 2022, Palo Alto’s littlest wage is $16.45 per hour.
5. Cupertino, Los Altos, & Santa Clara: $16.40 per Hour
The #5 spot is a three-way tie between three Californian towns: Cupertino, Los Altos, & Santa Clara. All three cities originally enacted plans to increase their minimum wages to $15 by 2019, whereafter they force increase annually in accordance with the regional Consumer Price Index. As of Jan. 7, 2022, Cupertino, Los Altos, and Santa Clara’s lowest wages are $16.40 per hour.