The minimum wage increased in 14 states as the new year began:

  1. Alaska‘s hourly minimum wage increased from $8.75 to $9.75.
  2. Arkansas hiked its minimum wage from $7.50 to $8 per hour, with an increase to $8.50 slated for Jan. 1, 2017.
  3. California‘s hourly minimum wage went from $9 to $10.
  4. Colorado‘s minimum wage increased from $8.23 to $8.31 per hour.
  5. Connecticut boosted its hourly minimum wage from $9.15 to $9.60, with an increase to $10.10 planned for Jan. 1, 2017.
  6. Hawaii‘s minimum wage went from $7.75 to $8.50 an hour, with an increase to $9.25 scheduled for Jan. 1, 2017, and an increase to $10.10 set for Jan. 1, 2018.
  7. Massachusetts raised its hourly minimum wage from $9 to $10 and is slated to increase it to $11 on Jan. 1, 2017.
  8. Michigan‘s minimum wage jumped from $8.15 to $8.50 per hour, with an increase to $8.90 scheduled for Jan. 1, 2017, and an increase to $9.25 set for Jan. 1, 2018.
  9. Nebraska hiked its hourly minimum wage from $8 to $9.
  10. New York‘s minimum wage increased from $8.75 to $9 per hour.
  11. Rhode Island boosted its hourly minimum wage from $9 to $9.60.
  12. South Dakota‘s minimum wage increased from $8.50 to $8.55 per hour.
  13. Vermont‘s hourly minimum wage went from $9.15 to $9.60, with a planned increase to $10 on Jan. 1, 2017, and an increase to $10.50 planned for Jan. 1, 2018.
  14. West Virginia raised its minimum wage from $8 to $8.75 per hour.

Later this year, the minimum wage is set to increase in two additional states.

Maryland’s hourly minimum wage will increase from $8.25 to $8.75 on July 1, with a bump to $9.25 set for July 1, 2017, and an increase to $10.10 effective July 1, 2018. The exception is that the current minimum wage in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in the state is $9.55 per hour.

Effective Aug. 1 in Minnesota, the minimum wage will go from $7.25 to $7.50 for employers with less than $500,000 in annual sales and will increase from $9 to $9.50 for employers with $500,000 or more in annual sales.

The minimum wage also increased in several major cities effective Jan. 1, or will soon. For instance, Seattle implemented a sliding hourly minimum wage of $10.50 to $13 depending on the size of the employer. The minimum wage in Los Angeles will increase to $10.50 in July and will be $15 by 2020. San Francisco’s minimum wage, currently at $12.25, will increase to $13 on July 1, $14 on July 1, 2017, and $15 on July 1, 2018.

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia now have minimum wages that are higher than the national hourly rate of $7.25, which has not been raised in more than six years.

Wages in senior living and other fields have been in the public eye. Nov. 10, for instance, demonstrators in cities across the country called for a $15 minimum wage and the right to unionize during a National Day of Action. In the healthcare realm, the Service Employees International Union singled out skilled nursing and home care workers.