Which minimum wages are increasing in 2026?

The short answer

Many states index the minimum wage to inflation and step up on January 1; several also step mid-year on July 1, and dozens of cities and counties set their own higher rates on their own schedules. So the honest answer is a mechanism, not a fixed list: check the current rate for each location you employ in rather than trusting a January article that no longer holds. The state table shows the current figure and flags where a local ordinance raises it.

Stop re-deriving this by hand. Minimum wage by state, 2026 — current rates — Every state plus the ordinance cities and counties that set their own higher rate.