Portland, Maine, Votes to Increase Minimum Wage

On Nov. 4, Portland, Maine, voters approved a proposal for raising the minimum wage to US$19 an hour by 2028, up from $15.50. Voters approved the wage hike by a 63.9% yes vote compared to a 36.1% no vote, according to unofficial results.

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, Portland’s minimum wage will rise to $16.75, and then it will increase another dollar on Jan. 1, 2027. City workers won’t qualify for that initial bump until July 1, 2026. Afterward, the minimum wage will increase in accordance with any changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for urban consumers in the Northeast as per the city’s laws.

The statewide minimum wage also is set to increase from $14.65 to $15.10 an hour as of Jan. 1. Portland is one of two cities where the minimum wage is higher than the statewide wage, with the other being Rockland, Maine, at $15.50 an hour.

As CMM previously reported, Florida’s minimum wage rose to $14 per hour on Sept. 30. This is part of a phased increase that will raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by September 2026. Beginning on Jan. 1, workers who earn the minimum wage across New York State also will see an increase of 50 cents per hour to $15.50 per hour. In New York City, Westchester, and Long Island, the minimum wage will rise by an additional 50 cents per hour, bringing the hourly wage up to $16.50.

CMM also recently reported, Connecticut’s minimum wage will be increasing to $16.94 per hour on Jan. 1, which will be the second highest in the U.S. Washington state’s minimum wage is scheduled to increase from $16.66 to $17.26 on Jan. 1. Slightly under Connecticut’s rate, California’s minimum wage will hit $16.90 on Jan. 1.