Iowa
Minnesota’s minimum wage rises by 26% for some, while Wisconsin remains at $7.25
The minimum wage in Minnesota has risen to $11.13 an hour for most of the state — except the Twin Cities — while it remains $7.25 an hour in Wisconsin.
Minnesota has two tiers of minimum wage pay — one for large businesses and another for small — that increases each year with inflation.
In 2018, lawmakers tied the minimum wage to inflation but capped increases at 2.5%.
Heading into this year, though, that limit was raised to 5% by the state Legislature to ensure the Minnesota’s lowest paid workers receive larger raises in periods of high inflation.
Because of that, small business workers’ minimum wage increased from $8.85 to $11.13. The large business minimum last year was $10.85. That includes tipped workers.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s minimum wage is based on the federal level. For tipped workers, it’s $2.33 an hour and $7.25 for everyone else. The federal minimums haven’t changed since 2009.
There are two exception to Minnesota’s minimum wage.
The first is workers under 20 are paid a training wage for the first 90 days of employment. That minimum increased from $8.85 per hour last year to $9.08 on Jan. 1.
The other exception is workers in the Twin Cities. The city councils there increased the minimum wage to $15 — something local governments cannot do in Wisconsin.
In Iowa, the minimum wage is the same as Wisconsin’s — set to the federal level. In Illinois, the minimum wage is $15 — up from $14. Tipped workers get $9.
Greg Symons
January 2, 2025 at 6:10 am
What a hoax by the Left. While the Federal Minimum wage is at $7.25/hour very few jobs in Wisconsin actually pay so little. You can start at Woodman’s bagging groceries for $15/hr. As far as tipped workers, though they make less guaranteed wage they more than make up for it in gratuities. My daughter makes $23/hr at her full-time job, but waitresses at a local restaurant, where she typically exceeds $30/hr in tips. She says she can’t afford to give up that kind of extra money. If Trump follows thru with eliminating tax on tips she’ll make even more. The left has to learn from its November loss and stop beating the tired drum on wages. We still live in a free society and people unhappy with their wages can look for higher paying jobs, there are plenty of them out there!
Mark
January 2, 2025 at 1:23 pm
If people in Wisconsin are making more than the MN minimum, what are you whining about?
John
January 2, 2025 at 7:22 am
We don’t want to be like MN or IL. Minimum wage should not be used for workers to make a career out of low entry jobs.
walden
January 6, 2025 at 2:36 pm
John you are correct. Nor should the minimum wage be used to buy votes, which is the case in MN and IL. This article is a WIZM/Democrat advertorial intended to create a political issue to gain low information voters.
Increasing the minimum wage was but one of many MN Dem acts taking effect in the New Year, including more tax increases.