Michigan minimum wage rises above $10 for first time

Minimum wage in Michigan is rising 23 cents today, Sunday, Jan. 1, to go above $10 per hour for the first time in state history.

Michigan’s minimum wage was $9.87 per hour in 2022, but jumps to $10.10 for 2023. A state law requires the wage to increase every year unless the yearly unemployment level is above 8.5% – which is why there was no increase in 2021.

The tipped minimum wage rises to $3.84 for 2023, the 85% rate for minors 16 and 17 rises to $8.59 per hour and the training rate for new employees 16 to 19 remains unchanged at $4.25 per hour.

Minimum wage could jump higher later this winter, depending on the results of a court ruling. A 2018 ballot proposal set the 2023 minimum wage at $13.03 and $11.73 for tipped workers, among other increases planned for other years. The Legislature amended the plan to reduce the minimum wage, the proposal’s organizers are arguing the move was unconstitutional.

A decision is expected Feb. 19, per a state news release.

The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2010. That adds up to about $15,000 per year for a full-time worker. At Michigan’s $10.10 per hour, that equates to $21,000 for a year of work. A full-time worker making $13.03 per hour would make $27,100 in a year.

Here’s how the state and federal minimum wage have risen since 1965.

(Can’t see the chart? Click here.)

Thirty states have a minimum wage above the federal rate. In 2022, 19 states had a minimum wage of $11 or higher. Only seven states had a bottom wage of $13-plus:

In 2022, Michigan had the 26th-highest minimum wage in the nation, per the U.S. Department of Labor. USDL data isn’t available yet to show every state’s minimum wage for 2023.

While $10.10 is the highest minimum wage in Michigan history, it’s not the highest value when adjusting for inflation. In 1979, Michigan’s $2.90 minimum wage had the value of $12.65 in today’s dollars.

Here’s Michigan’s minimum wage since 1965 adjusted for inflation (to October 2022 dollars).

(Can’t see the chart? Click here.)

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