NYC minimum wage is about to increase: Here’s what you need to know

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — If you work in New York and earn minimum wage, you’re about to get a pay increase. According to the state Labor Department, hourly income is set to rise in all areas of the state on Jan. 1, with residents of NYC raking in the biggest bump.

Workers in the five boroughs and Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties will begin to earn $16 an hour in the new year, an increase of $1 from the current rate of $15. In all other areas of the state, workers will bring in $15 per hour, an increase of 5.6% over the current minimum wage of $14.20 offered in most areas Upstate.

The 2024 increase will be followed by hikes of 50 cents an hour in 2025 and 2026. All totaled, the NYC increases will yield an extra $80 per week for full-time minimum wage workers over the next two years.

According to the Department of Labor’s website, general minimum wage has increased substantially since being instituted at $1 in 1960. A decade ago, the state minimum was $7.25 an hour. With this year’s increase, that number is now double.