Many of Oregon’s hardest workers will get an increase in their paychecks in July. This is due to the state’s minimum wage increases. The current standard minimum wage rate is $13.50. There are rules maintaining that Portland metro minimum wage workers must earn $1.25 more than the standard minimum wage while non-urban minimum wage workers must earn $1.00 less.
In comparison to the country, the federal minimum wage in the US has stayed at $7.25 per hour since it was raised in 2009. Many cities across America, just like Portland, enforce their own minimum wages, but with the cost of living varying greatly across each, that pay goes further in some cities than others.
The Labor Commissioner in Oregon put out that minimum wage earners will receive the following rates on July 1:
-Standard Minimum Wage: $14.20 per hour
-Portland Metro Minimum Wage: $15.45 per hour
-Non-Urban Minimum Wage: $13.20 per hour
SmartAsset ranked 79 of the largest US cities according to how much the minimum wage is worth after adjusting for the cost of living. The minimum wage goes furthest in Denver. That city’s hourly minimum pay was raised to $17.29 in January 2023. The Colorado capital’s minumum wage is the second-highest of those studied.
In the Pacific Northwest, minimum wage workers in Seattle earn $18.69 an hour. This is the highest minimum wage overall. However, Seattle is among the most expensive cities to live in, making the real minimum wage just $12.51 when adjusted for the cost of living. Minimum wage in Honolulu pays for the least of all the cities analyzed. Of the 79 cities studied, only 18 have a statutory minimum wage of $15 or more. Thirty of the cities enforce the default federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.
According to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, the law requires an adjustment to the minimum wage to be calculated no later than April 30 every year. The bureau says it expects the increase to positively impact consumer spending and boost the economy.
