Wednesday, Jun 3, 2026
Is Pennsylvania’s minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage?
Pennsylvania has not raised its minimum wage above the federally mandated $7.25 per hour as of May 2026.
Pennsylvania last increased its minimum wage in 2009 to match federal requirements. Pennsylvania is one of 21 states whose minimum wages are not higher than the federal level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
In 2025, nearly 43,000 Pennsylvanians made minimum wage or less, while nearly 190,000 made a “near-minimum wage” of between $7.26 and $12 an hour, according to Pennsylvania’s latest Minimum Wage report. This was out of the nearly 6.6 million working Pennsylvanians.
In March 2026, the House passed legislation to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $15 by 2029. It is awaiting approval by the Senate’s Labor & Industry Committee. This is the third time the House has passed a minimum-wage increase since Democrats won a majority in 2023, but Republican leadership in the Senate have blocked past efforts.
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Sources
- US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division
- US Department of Labor Consolidated Minimum Wage Table
- CIty & State A recent history of efforts to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage
- Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Analysis of the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage - 2025
- Pennsylvania General Assembly House Bill 2819
- The Pennsylvania Independent Pennsylvania House passes bill to increase state minimum wage to $15 by 2029
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics Pennsylvania Economy at a Glance
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