A new bill calls for $25 minimum wage. Here's where that isn't 'sufficient'

Comments: by Addy Bink - 06/25/26 4:59 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Addy Bink - 06/25/26 4:59 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING (NEXSTAR) — There s a new effort in Congress to take the federal minimum wage to a level it has never been before: $25 an hour. If it were to pass, it would be the first time the federal rate has changed since 2009. While a major jump from the current rate of $7.25 an hour, $25 an hour may still not be enough for some Americans just trying to make ends meet. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) was set to introduce the new legislation on Thursday, according to reports. Its companion bill was introduced earlier this year. The Living Wage for All Act would require large employers to raise their minimum wage to $25 an hour by 2031. Smaller employers would have until 2038 to comply. Supporters say the increase is needed to keep pace with the rising cost of housing, health care, and basic necessities. An analysis by Nexstar shows that it could prove useful, at least in a few states. It also varies greatly depending on your family size, based on data from MIT s Living Wage Calculator. The calculator takes into account the basic needs a family of varying sizes may have, like food, housing, child care, and transportation, to determine how much a worker must earn hourly to be self-sufficient. Estimated living wages are available for all 50 states, their counties, and major metro areas. Based on an analysis by Nexstar, a $25-an-hour rate is enough for a single working adult without any children to live self-sufficiently in all but 14 states, per MIT s calculations. In the most expensive state for a single working adult, Hawaii, the living wage is $31.01 an hour. Only two other states, Massachusetts and California, have a living wage above $30 an hour. Rhode Island narrowly ranks outside the affordable states for a single adult at $25.01 an hour. Others where a $25 federal minimum wage isn t enough include Virginia, New Hampshire, Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, Oregon, Washington, New Jersey, New York, and the District of Columbia. Alternatively, West Virginia has the lowest necessary income for a single working adult at $19.53 an hour, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator. Maybe you and your partner are both working adults without children: aka, dual income, no kids, or DINK. If that s the case, and you both are earning $25 an hour, you ll be earning more than a living wage. Only Hawaii has a living wage above $20 an hour, MIT s calculations found. That s a far better case than if the minimum wage jumped to $15 an hour as proposed in another recent piece of legislation. While $25 an hour is well above a living wage for DINKs, it s not nearly as plentiful for a family of four, even with two working adults. In only 11 states – and one of those, only barely – would a $25 minimum wage be enough. With a living wage of $24.99 an hour for each of the two working adults, Kansas narrowly ranks among this group. Others include Iowa, Texas, West Virginia, South Dakota, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the same working adults would need at least $15 more an hour to earn enough to support themselves and their children in Massachusetts. There, in the home of MIT, two working adults need wages of at least $39.61 each to be self-sufficient. These calculations are estimates, and every family s situation is different. According to the data produced by MIT s Living Wage Calculator, no state s minimum wage is enough to be considered a living wage for a single working adult, DINKs, or a family of four where both adults are working. Should the minimum wage hike bill pass, within the first year of enactment, the federal pay rate would jump to $12 an hour, according to the Washington Post. It would also end the below-minimum wage rates for tipped workers and others. WTVO s Jim Hagerty contributed to this report. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

A new bill calls for $25 minimum wage. Here's where that isn't 'sufficient'

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