A record 88 jurisdictions—23 states and 65 cities and counties—will raise their minimum wage floors by the end of 2025, according to the National Employment Law Project (NELP).

In 70 of these jurisdictions (nine states and 61 cities and counties) wages will reach or exceed US$15 an hour for some or all employees; in 53 jurisdictions (two states and 51 cities and counties) the wage floor will reach or exceed $17 an hour. 

On Jan. 1, 21 states and 48 cities and counties will raise their minimum wages. Additionally, five states and 23 cities and counties will increase their minimum wages later in the new year.

A growing number of states and localities are increasing their minimum wages to $15 an hour or above, USA Today reported. New York, California, Massachusetts, Washington, Maryland, New Jersey, and Connecticut are already there. On Jan. 1, Illinois, Delaware, and Rhode Island will increase their state minimums to $15. Oregon also will increase to $15 in July because of a cost-of-living rise.

Other states are raising their minimums but are shy of $15. Missouri’s minimum will grow to $13.75 and Nebraska’s minimum to $13.50. Nebraska’s minimum wage will increase to $15 on Jan. 1, 2026. Additionally, Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, and Missouri will reach a $15 minimum by 2026 or 2027. In total, 16 states—Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon and Washington—are on a path to a $15 (or higher) minimum wage, NELP reported.

Additionally, California and New Jersey will raise their minimum wages for some healthcare workers, including janitorial work in California, to $18 and above.

Regarding local governments, 47 localities will also hit or top $15 on Jan. 1, including more than four dozen in California, most of which will climb higher than $18. Burien, Washington—already subject to the state’s $16.28 minimum pay—will jump to $21.16 for employers with 500 or more workers in King County, making it the nation’s highest minimum wage.

On the other hand, the federal minimum wage has been stagnant at $7.25 an hour since 2009. Nearly 30 states housing about 60% of the U.S. workforce have higher minimum wages than the federal limit.

On Monday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published for public comment its plan for studying and developing technology-based PFAS limits on industrial wastewater discharges. The plan is a key action under the agency’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap as it considers rulemaking efforts to protect communities from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, also known as forever chemicals) in local waterways and supports the Biden Cancer Moonshot’s efforts to reduce Americans’ exposure to cancer-causing chemicals.

“EPA is committed to working with state partners to develop strong national rules to reduce the presence of forever chemicals in our waterways,” said Bruno Pigott, EPA principal deputy assistant administrator for water. “That means we must work to develop our collective understanding about PFAS discharges from industry. From there, we can better innovate and implement durable treatment solutions that protect our communities over the long run.”

Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 16 (Preliminary Plan 16) shows the agency’s intent to initiate detailed studies of wastewater pollution discharges and their treatment potential for several industrial categories.

EPA has determined that it needs to collect additional data and information from facilities in the battery manufacturing category, the centralized waste treatment category, the oil and gas extraction category, as well as from PFAS processors (industrial facilities engaged in processing PFAS into commercial products). The goal of these studies is to enable the agency to make informed, data-driven decisions on the need for new rulemakings to establish revised effluent limitations guidelines. Any future rulemakings developed because of these studies would be based on the best available science and designed to stop PFAS contamination at the source.

With the announcement of this preliminary plan in the Federal Register, EPA is opening a 30-day public comment period. To submit a written comment, visit EPA’s Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan webpage for more information.