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21 states kicked the year off by raising the minimum wage

The January pay hikes could affect more than 9 million US workers, one analysis found.

1/6/25 10:15AM

To millions of Americans, January 1 meant a sore head, devising and revising resolutions, and maybe trying to make the most of a day off. For millions of others, it meant a New Year’s pay bump.

Welcome to the new wage…

According to figures from the National Employment Law Project, lawmakers across 21 states and 48 cities and counties marked the first day of the year by raising their minimum-wage floors, with 55 of those jurisdictions hiking pay rates to meet or exceed the $15 an hour that advocates have long set their sights on. Later in 2025, Florida and Oregon are set to join the list of states raising minimum hourly wages for workers, as legislators try to bump compensation for America’s lowest-paid employees after years of inflation.

So where can minimum-wage workers already expect a new boost to their pay packets for January, and by how much?

Workers in Delaware are going to see the biggest change in their wages this year, with the minimum wage increasing by $1.75 an hour, from $13.25 to $15, while people earning minimum wage in Nebraska and Missouri can expect their hourly rates to rise by $1.50 and $1.45, respectively.

According to analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, reported by Business Insider, pay rises across the states will directly affect over 3 million workers in America. A further 6 million, who get paid within 15% of the new minimum-wage floors, might also enjoy the knock-on effects from the improved rates, the Institute said.

Saleah Blancaflor

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From Desi Arnaz to SpaceX: Understanding the rules of the modern economy

We talked with “Planet Money” author Alex Mayyasi about how AI might help or replace you, the superstar effect, and how the compounding effect extends beyond money.

Globes covered with various currencies suspended in space

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Ahead of Mother’s Day, Google searches for “same day flower delivery” have ticked up a little earlier this year

If you’ve already made plans for a Mother’s Day gift in advance of this Sunday, congratulations. But if alarm bells are suddenly ringing, consider this a gentle reminder that, like a sizable share of the US population this time of year often does, you can still scrape together some last-minute flowers for the woman who carried you for nine months.

Data from Google Trends reveals that searches for “same day flower delivery” spike in the US in May every year, when Mother’s Day takes place. As we noted last February, the same query also gains traction around Valentine’s Day.

This year, however, it appears that searches for last-minute flowers have remained elevated in the last two months after the usual peak in February — with the search interest this April actually exceeding that seen around Cupid’s Day.

Honestly, we’re not sure why searches are spiking a little early. One explanation might be that Passover and Easter have overlapped at the start of April, and Americans wanted to celebrate with some flowers. Maybe it’s a host of Claude bots that are now running errands for AI-obsessed execs — or perhaps Americans are just impulse-buying some seasonal spring blooms after an unusually warm March, without a particular occasion.