Five states have now put a January 1, 2027 minimum wage on the record, and the highest of them is Washington’s $17.73 an hour. New Jersey sits at $16.48, Connecticut at $17.48, Michigan at $15.00 and Minnesota at $11.87. For a full-time worker earning the minimum, the gap between the top and bottom of that group is $5.86 an hour, which works out to more than $12,000 over a 2,080-hour year.
The rates were not all set the same way, and one of them was set years ago. Four come from agency announcements or indexing formulas; Michigan’s comes from a schedule written into state law. Each is treated below with its own 2026 starting point, so the size of each raise can be read against what workers earn today.
Washington’s $17.73 and the other four rates, side by side
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries states that the 2027 minimum wage is $17.73 an hour, up from $17.13 in 2026, an increase of 60 cents or roughly 3.5%. Workers aged 14 and 15 get a separate 2027 minimum of $15.07. Washington indexes the rate to the federal consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W), and the agency announces each year’s figure on September 30 for a January 1 start.
New Jersey’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced on September 29 that the statewide rate for most employees rises 56 cents, from $15.92 to $16.48. Acting Labor Commissioner Kevin D. Jarvis said that reaching $15 for agricultural workers, whose rate moves from $14.20 to $15.00, is “a particularly meaningful step toward ensuring equity across industries.” The same release lists $16.25 for seasonal and small employers with fewer than six workers (from $15.23), $19.48 for long-term care direct care staff, and a $6.61 cash wage for tipped workers (from $6.05).
Connecticut’s number was settled earlier. Governor Ned Lamont’s office announced on August 5 that the rate climbs 54 cents, from $16.94 to $17.48. State law ties the adjustment to the federal employment cost index, which rose 3.2% in the twelve months ending June 30, 2026. Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo said the increases “ensure that Connecticut’s lowest wage workers aren’t left behind as the economy grows.”
Minnesota’s Department of Labor and Industry lists an inflation adjustment from $11.41 to $11.87 for all employers, a 46-cent or roughly 4.0% rise, with the 90-day training wage for workers under 20 moving from $9.31 to $9.68.
Michigan’s $15.00 was legislated, not announced
Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity says the rate is $13.73 an hour in 2026 and “$15.00 per hour” from January 1, 2027. The jump follows Senate Bill 8, whose changes took effect February 21, 2025 and step the wage up in stages to $15 by 2027. Because the date and dollar figure are fixed in statute, the Michigan step is a scheduled rate rather than a projection.
It is also the biggest raise of the five in dollar terms: $1.27 an hour, about 9.2% over the 2026 rate, against 3.5% in Washington and roughly 3.5% in New Jersey.
What a full year of the raise adds up to
Multiplying each increase by 2,080 hours, the hours in a 40-hour week worked all year, gives the annual difference for a full-time worker paid exactly the minimum:
- Washington: 60 cents x 2,080 = $1,248, bringing annual pay to $36,878 at $17.73.
- New Jersey: 56 cents x 2,080 = $1,165, to about $34,278 at $16.48.
- Connecticut: 54 cents x 2,080 = $1,123, to about $36,358 at $17.48.
- Michigan: $1.27 x 2,080 = $2,642, to $31,200 at $15.00.
- Minnesota: 46 cents x 2,080 = $957, to about $24,690 at $11.87.
These are before-tax figures for a hypothetical worker who never misses a shift. A part-time worker at 25 hours a week would see roughly 60 percent of those amounts, and tipped workers in New Jersey are paid a lower cash wage, $6.61, with the tip credit making up the difference.
Why the formulas pull the states apart
Three different yardsticks are at work. Washington follows CPI-W, New Jersey follows consumer price data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Connecticut follows an employment cost index, which tracks pay and benefit costs rather than prices. Minnesota applies an inflation adjustment, and Michigan follows a fixed ladder. That mix explains why Connecticut’s 54-cent step, based on a 3.2% index gain, lands close to New Jersey’s 56 cents even though the two states use different measures.
For employers the practical deadline is the same in all five states: payroll systems, posted notices and tipped-wage calculations have to reflect the new figures by January 1. The state agencies cited above are the authorities on each rate and on exceptions such as New Jersey’s separate agricultural, seasonal and long-term care figures.
The firmest ground in all of this is the text on the state pages: Washington at $17.73, Connecticut at $17.48, New Jersey at $16.48, Michigan at $15.00 and Minnesota at $11.87, each effective January 1, 2027.
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AI assistance was used to draft this report; each rate above was checked against the state labor department page linked beside it.
