New Jersey’s new minimum wage will be more than double Pennsylvania’s
New Jersey’s minimum wage will increase again in 2026, as the state continues with scheduled adjustments to account for inflation.
New Jersey’s minimum wage will increase on Thursday.
The new rate of $15.92 an hour is a $0.43 increase from the previous standard, which was set in 2025.
“Eight years ago, Governor Murphy pledged a stronger, fairer economy, and we’re delivering on this commitment by raising New Jersey’s minimum wage again,” Robert Asaro-Angelo, commissioner of the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said in October. “This increase will provide vital support to all Garden State workers by making the dream of a livable wage reality.”
New Jersey is among 19 states that will set new minimum wages Jan. 1, because of scheduled increases or adjustments for inflation.
In 2019, New Jersey lawmakers passed legislation to increase the standard to $15 by 2024, joining California, Massachusetts, New York, and the District of Columbia which were also progressively introducing the new standard. At the time, the minimum wage in New Jersey was $8.85 per hour.
A single adult without a child needs to make $26.20 per hour in New Jersey to afford their basic needs as of February 2025, according to a living wage calculator developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Agricultural workers in New Jersey have a separate wage standard and will see an increase from $13.40 to $14.20 in January.
For tipped workers, the minimum hourly wage will increase from $5.62 to $6.05. But when combined with their tips, these workers should have a total hourly wage of at least $15.92.
Employees at seasonal and small businesses will see wages rise from $14.53 to $15.23. The state has a different scale for these employers to lessen the impact of the raises.
What’s the minimum wage in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania’s minimum wage has gone unchanged since 2009, despite efforts to increase it. The federal minimum wage was last increased in 2009 to $7.25.
In Pennsylvania, a single adult without a child needs to make $22.91 per hour to afford their basic needs, according to the MIT calculator.
As of July, other states following the federal minimum wage were: Idaho, Utah, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, and New Hampshire.
Advocates have also sought legislation to allow Philadelphia to set its own minimum wage separate from the state’s. That’s currently prohibited by law.
Gov. Josh Shapiro has supported raising the minimum wage in Pennsylvania, and Rep. G. Roni Green (D., Philadelphia) and Sen. Christine Tartaglione (D., Philadelphia) introduced state legislation this year to raise the minimum wage. Both bills were referred to legislative committees in April.