Come New Year’s Day workers earning minimum wage will bring home bigger paychecks as Maryland and Virginia, among other states, up their requirements for salaries.
The following are the new minimum hourly wages, starting Jan. 1:
- Virginia — $11
- Maryland — $12.50 (for businesses with 15 or more employees)
D.C.’s minimum wage is currently $15.20 an hour.
Virginia’s minimum wage has been gradually moving up from the federally mandated wage: $7.25 an hour, that it was this year. On May 1, Virginia upped the hourly wage to $9.50.
Before that, Virginia hadn’t changed its minimum wage since 2009, when Congress raised the federally-mandated wage. In 2023, Virginia will again raise its minimum wage to $12 an hour.
In 2019, Maryland finalized plans to work toward a $15 hourly minimum wage. The wage started at $11 and will go up 75 cents each year until hitting $15.
Businesses with fewer than 15 employees in Maryland are working toward the $15 goal at a slower pace, with their minimum wage increasing by 60 cents each year before reaching the benchmark.
Those making minimum wage in D.C. will have to wait a bit longer to see an increase: D.C. will see a bump to its minimum wage in July 2022. The amount will be determined in proportion to the Consumer Price Index. In July 2020, D.C.’s minimum wage went up to $15.20.