State's minimum wage will increase to $17.73 next year
Washington's rate is among nation's highest; more than double federal minimum wage.
Updated
TUMWATER — Effective Jan. 1, Washington state’s minimum wage for 2027 will rise to $17.73 an hour, a 3.5% increase from the current rate of $17.13 per hour.
The rate hike reflects an annual cost-of-living adjustment based on the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. The process stems from two voter-approved statewide initiatives — 688 in 1998 and 1433 in 2016 — with implementation overseen by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries.
Washington's rate is the highest in the nation with the exception of the District of Columbia at $17.95. Both are more than double the federal minimum wage, which remains at $7.25 an hour.
A few Washington cities have even higher rates which apply to employers within their jurisdiction. Seattle, for example, has a current minimum wage of $21.30 an hour. In Burien, companies with more than 500 employees must pay $21.63 an hour. Others include SeaTac, Tukwila, Renton, Bellingham, Everett, and unincorporated King County.
Statewide for younger workers, employers in 2027 must pay 85% of minimum wage – or $15.07 an hour – to those ages 14-15.
L&I also uses the federal CPI to calculate the minimum salary for certain “overtime exempt” employees who do not receive overtime pay. This affects executive, administrative, and professional workers, plus computer professionals.
Next year’s overtime exempt pay rate is 2.25 times the minimum wage — that is, $1,596 per week or $82,976 annually.
L&I is using an eight-year implementation schedule through 2028 to incrementally raise how much more a salaried employee must earn to be exempt from receiving overtime pay. It is based on the size of the employer. Next year, smaller businesses with up to 50 workers will remain at the 2.25 exemption rate, but it will increase to 2.5 for larger employers with 51 or more workers.
The same rules allow certain computer professionals to be paid an hourly rate rather than a minimum salary, L&I said. That hourly rate is 3.5 times the minimum wage, regardless of employer size, and will be $62.06 per hour in 2027, an increase of $2.10 from this year.
Other minimum pay requirements are established for rideshare drivers, “leasing fees” for performers working in adult entertainment venues, and calculations for employers seeking to impose non-compete clauses on departing workers.
L&I has also announced updated information regarding overtime, rest breaks, meal periods, and filing wage complaints.
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State's minimum wage will increase to $17.73 next year
Washington's rate is among nation's highest; more than double federal minimum wage.
TUMWATER — Effective Jan. 1, Washington state’s minimum wage for 2027 will rise to $17.73 an hour, a 3.5% increase from the current rate of $17.13 per hour.
The rate hike reflects an annual cost-of-living adjustment based on the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. The process stems from two voter-approved statewide initiatives — 688 in 1998 and 1433 in 2016 — with implementation overseen by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries.
Washington's rate is the highest in the nation with the exception of the District of Columbia at $17.95. Both are more than double the federal minimum wage, which remains at $7.25 an hour.
A few Washington cities have even higher rates which apply to employers within their jurisdiction. Seattle, for example, has a current minimum wage of $21.30 an hour. In Burien, companies with more than 500 employees must pay $21.63 an hour. Others include SeaTac, Tukwila, Renton, Bellingham, Everett, and unincorporated King County.
Statewide for younger workers, employers in 2027 must pay 85% of minimum wage – or $15.07 an hour – to those ages 14-15.
L&I also uses the federal CPI to calculate the minimum salary for certain “overtime exempt” employees who do not receive overtime pay. This affects executive, administrative, and professional workers, plus computer professionals.
Next year’s overtime exempt pay rate is 2.25 times the minimum wage — that is, $1,596 per week or $82,976 annually.
L&I is using an eight-year implementation schedule through 2028 to incrementally raise how much more a salaried employee must earn to be exempt from receiving overtime pay. It is based on the size of the employer. Next year, smaller businesses with up to 50 workers will remain at the 2.25 exemption rate, but it will increase to 2.5 for larger employers with 51 or more workers.
The same rules allow certain computer professionals to be paid an hourly rate rather than a minimum salary, L&I said. That hourly rate is 3.5 times the minimum wage, regardless of employer size, and will be $62.06 per hour in 2027, an increase of $2.10 from this year.
Other minimum pay requirements are established for rideshare drivers, “leasing fees” for performers working in adult entertainment venues, and calculations for employers seeking to impose non-compete clauses on departing workers.
L&I has also announced updated information regarding overtime, rest breaks, meal periods, and filing wage complaints.