Voters approved two statewide ballot measures in 2018 pertaining to minimum wages. Arkansas Issue 5 was approved, incrementally raising the minimum wage in Arkansas from $8.50 to $11 per hour by 2021. Missouri Proposition B was also approved, increasing the state’s minimum wage each year from $7.85 up to $12 per hour in 2023.

 

The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour. Georgia and Wyoming are the only two states with minimum wages below the federal level, making the federal minimum wage operative in those states. Another 19 states have state minimums at $7.25, matching the federal level. The other 29 states and Washington, D.C., all have minimum wages above the federal level. Thirteen of those states have wages above $10.00 per hour. Statewide minimum wage laws range from $5.15 per hour in Georgia and Wyoming up to $14.00 per hour in Washington, D.C.

 

Overall, minimum wages increased in 20 states and Washington, D.C., in 2018. Some of these changes took place due to ballot measures, while others took place due to state legislation. Minimum wages will also increase in 21 states and Washington, D.C., in 2019. The average increase for these 21 states is $0.55.

 

Proponents of increased minimum wages in Florida and Nevada are aiming to get measures on the ballot in 2020. Supporters of Florida’s minimum wage measure need to collect 766,200 valid signatures by February 1, 2020, to get their measure on the ballot. In Nevada, a majority vote is required in two successive sessions of the Nevada State Legislature to place an amendment on the ballot. Legislators passed Senate Joint Resolution 6 in 2017 and need to pass it again in their 2019 legislative session in order to place it on the ballot in 2020.