The increase in the minimum wage started with an Executive Order in February 2014 that raised the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour for federal contract workers. In addition, almost half of the states raised their state minimum wages, effective January 1, 2015:
- Alaska: $8.75 per hour (effective February 24, 2015)
- Arizona: $8.05 per hour (with tipped employees getting a minimum cash wage boost to $5.05 per hour)
- Arkansas: $7.50 per hour
- Colorado: $8.23 per hour
- Connecticut: $9.15 per hour
- Florida: $8.05 per hour (with tipped employees getting a minimum cash wage boost to $5.03 per hour)
- Hawaii: $7.75 per hour
- Maryland: $8.00 per hour (with another increase to $8.25 per hour set to go into effect on July 1, 2015)
- Massachusetts: $9.00 per hour (with tipped employees getting a minimum cash wage boost to $3.00 per hour)
- Missouri: $7.65 per hour (with tipped employees getting a minimum cash wage boost to $3.83 per hour)
- Montana: $8.05 per hour (for businesses with annual gross sales of $110,000 or more; for businesses with gross sales less than $110,000, the minimum wage stays at $4.00 per hour)
- Nebraska: $8.00 per hour
- New Jersey: $8.38 per hour
- New York: $8.75 per hour (effective December 31, 2014)
- Ohio: $8.10 per hour (for workers 16 and older who work for employers grossing at least $297,000 in receipts; tipped employees also received a minimum cash wage raise to $4.05 per hour)
- Oregon: $9.25 per hour
- Rhode Island: $9.00 per hour
- South Dakota: $8.50 per hour (with tipped employees getting a minimum cash wage raise to $4.25 per hour)
- Vermont: $9.15 per hour (with tipped employees getting a minimum cash wage boost to $4.58 per hour)
- Washington: $9.47 per hour
- West Virginia: $8.00 per hour (effective December 31, 2014 and another increase to $8.75 per hour set to be effective December 31, 2015; in addition, tipped employees will receive a minimum cash wage boost to $2.40 per hour)
Several municipalities around the country also approved increases to their local minimum wages to become effective in 2015. San Francisco, California, for example, voted to increase its local minimum wage to $11.05 effective on January 1, 2015 and again to $12.25 per hour effective on May 1, 2015. Also, Oakland, California voted to raise its minimum wage to $12.25 as of March 2, 2015; and Chicago, Illinois voted to increase its minimum to $10.00 per hour effective July 1, 2015.