Connecticut Sits Within Top States for Highest Minimum Wage, 20 States Still Sit at $7.25

This has always been a big topic in Connecticut. Everything here is so astronomically expensive, so we need the funds to be able to afford it. No matter how much money you make, I still feel like it's way too expensive, but that's a conversation for another day.

I was searching around the internet about some new things that came in effect in the new year and a lot of talk was about how Connecticut's new minimum wage is $16.35 per hour. As an adult, understandably so. If I was a teenager with no responsibility and just collecting a paycheck to eat out with my friends, this was amazing. We can all talk about how much minimum wage was when we started working, but of course our economy now is so different.

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Something that surprised me even more was how many states still sat at the Federal minimum wage of $7.25. Before we take a deeper dive into that, I wanted to look at the states with the highest minimum wages.

As of 2025,

• Washington D.C - $17.50
• Washington - $16.66
• California - $16.50
• New York (certain parts) - $16.50
• Connecticut - $16.35

We pretty much sit with the big rigs. Nothing is cheap around us, so our minimum wage needs to reflect that. I wanted to show our minimum wages, because I was shocked at how many states still sit at $7.25. Now listen, I understand that some states are cheaper than others. But when you think about it, a lot of things cost the same no matter what part of the country you are in.

When I counted 20 states still sitting at $7.25, I was pretty appalled. I don't know how anyone can afford that. In this day and age, no matter where you work, you are worth more than that amount of money. If everything costed the same as 10-20 years ago, this could be a different conversation.

Here are the states that still sit at that Federal minimum wage: Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

That's almost half the country. I really hope that all changes very soon. Many states are increasing their wages which is great to see, I just hope these 20 jump on board very soon. To take a deeper dive into U.S. minimum wages, you can see everything here.