With the start of 2026, more than 8.3 million workers in 19 states received mandatory minimum wage increases.
None of them were in Massachusetts.
Despite being one of the most expensive states in the country, the Commonwealth has kept its minimum wage flat at $15 per hour since 2023. When Massachusetts first hit that level, it was one of only four states that had reached at least the $15 mark.
Today, however, 11 states have higher minimum wages, according to federal data, led by Washington state at $17.13 an hour, followed closely by Connecticut at $16.94.
Several other New England states saw a modest minimum pay bump at the start of the new year, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Rhode Island’s increase was the largest, rising $1 to $16 per hour due to legislation passed last year, with another $1 an hour increase scheduled for 2027.
Maine’s minimum wage also rose by $0.45 an hour, to $15.10, while Vermont increased by $0.41 to $14.42 an hour and Connecticut by $0.59 an hour to $16.94, all due to inflation adjustments.
New Hampshire was the only other New England state not to implement a minimum pay bump. But unlike other states in the region, New Hampshire continues to follow the federal minimum wage of just $7.25 an hour.
Lawmakers in Massachusetts have repeatedly filed proposals to raise the minimum wage as high as $20 per hour over several years, but none have cleared Beacon Hill since the last increase took effect in 2023.
Scooty Nickerson can be reached at scooty.nickerson@globe.com.