Places around the U.S. where the minimum wage tops $10
The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour has not budged since 2009, but the inaction on Capitol Hill has not restrained the baseline pay for American workers from rising around the U.S.
Since the start of 2014, 14 states have boosted their hourly rate, and the effective minimum wage has increased in 26 states and the District of Columbia. The minimum pay tops the federal mandate in 29 U.S. states.
The numbers come from the Economic Policy Institute, which this week published an interactive map that shows where things stood as of July 10.
The minimum wage is indexed for inflation in 15 states and D.C., meaning it is automatically adjusted each year for increases in prices, according to the liberal-leaning think tank.
Seven states -- Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wyoming -- either have no minimum wage or one below the federal level, which means the federal law applies in those states. Additionally, 18 localities including seven in California and five in New Mexico, have adopted minimum wages above their state minimum.
In New York City, meanwhile, fast-food restaurants are expected to became the first individual industry to be ordered to boost wages, with a labor panel on Wednesday advising Gov. Andrew Cuomo to raise worker pay to $15 an hour.
On the other side of the country, Seattle in April increased hourly pay to $11, with the baseline wage set to rise incrementally to $15 an hour over the next three to seven years, depending on an employer's size. Los Angeles County officials are also planning to draft a law that would gradually increase the minimum wage for some worker to $15 by 2020.
Despite the "Fight for $15" movement pushing for higher wages, for now only Washington, D.C., has an hourly minimum above $10, with the district's minimum rising from $9.50 to $10.50 at the start of this month.