A minimum wage is the least amount of money that workers can be paid for their service according to state or federal law. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour for employees who are covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and who are nonexempt.

Many states have increased their minimum wage beyond the federal level in an attempt to provide workers with a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:living wage, however. Twenty-one states did so effective Jan. 1, 2025, increasing the incomes of 🅰more than 9.2 million workers. Forty-eight cities and counties will do so as well. The minimum wage in these regions in 2025 will be:

• $16.50 per hour in California
• $16.66 per hour in Washington and higher in certain localities
• $16.35 per hour in Connecticut
• $16.50 in the New York City area

Several companies have benefited their workers by raising their entry-level wages beyond the levels set by the federal or state g𝕴overnments.

1. McDonald's

McDonald's (MCD) increased its wage range for entry-level employees to $11 to $17 per hour in 2021. It also increased the range for shift managers at certain restaurant locations to $15 to $20 per hour.

The fast-food giant sought to attract customers six years earlier by improving 10% of its workers' wages on the premise that happier workers make happier customers. It raised wages to $9.90 per hour in July 2015.

The company later noted that employee turnover rates dropped and customer survey scores increased. Labor advocates were still displeased and pressed the hamburger chain to raise its minimum wage to a rate of $15.

The average hourly pay at McDonald's was $12.10 per hour in 2024, according to data gathered by third-party staffing agency Zippia. An assistant manager earned $18.81 per hour on average. A cashier at the national chain averaged $13.53 per hour.

McDonald's raised its average hourly pay to $15 in 2024.

2. Starbucks

Starbucks raised the wage it pays most hourly workers by a minimum 3% in 2024. Wages rose a minimum of 4% for those employees who have worked from two to five years with the company and those with more than five years of employment will receive a raise of at least 5%.

The company raised the hourly minimum for all U.S. retail employees to $15 in 2022.

This renowned coffee store announced in July 2016 that its 150,000 entry-level workers would receive a long-expected minimum wage increase of up to 15%. At least 8.5% of its workers had demanded this higher pay.

Starbucks (SBUX) also raised its prices one day after this announcement. A Starbucks spokeswoman mentioned that wage increases and beverage price increases were two separate decisions. Both were intended to make the company more competitive.

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Starbucks paid an average hourly salary of $17.50 in 2024. Its minimum hourly range for a barista was $15 to $24. Team Leaders earned $33.61 per hour in 2024, according to Zippia.

3. Bank of America

Bank of America (BAC) has bumped up its minimum wage several times si🔴nce 2019:

• $17 in 2019
• $20 in 2020
• $21 in 2021
• $22 in 2022
• $23 in 2023
• $24 in 2024 with plans to raise it to $25 by 2025

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Bank of America now pays a higher minimum wage than most of its competitors. The average hourly rate was $25.58 in 2024.

4. Wells Fargo

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Wells Fargo (WFC) raised its U.S. minimum hourly wage by 32% to $15 per hour as of March 2018.

It again took steps to improve wages when it raised the range of its minimum wage to $15 to $20 per hour in 2020. The exact rate depended on where an employee was located. The change would impact more than 20,000 employees.

The financial services giant's average hourly wage was $20 in 2024, a figure that represents an annual salary of $41,599.

5. Aetna

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Health insurance company Aetna raised the wages of its lowest-paid employees from $12 per hour to almost $16 in 2015, an increase of 33% per hour. Approximately 5,700 of its U.S. workers earned that $12 an hour rate at the time.

The announcement stimulate💦d significant public interest with some commenting that Aetna showed that a well-paid workforce makes for a happier, more productive business with long-r🧸ange benefits.

The healthcare company paid an average of $29.73 per hour as of 2023. The highest salaries were paid to lead technicians at $58.58 per hour, data engineers at $56.79, and team leaders at $55.69.

6. Walmart

People have been in love with Walmart's (WMT) low prices for years but there's been a lot of criticism of t🧔he corporate giant's alleged stinginess, especially when it comes to how much 🌃it pays workers in its stores.

The company hiked the pay for entry-level workers to at least $10 an hour in January 2016 to improve its reputation. It projected that this increase would affect more than 1.2 million employees.

Walmart then made another move to improve the pay of its workers in January 2023. Its 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:chief executive officer (CEO) announced an average hourly wage hike to $17.50 for its associates. The rate took effect in March of that year.

The average hourly wage at Walmart was $15.20 per hour in 2024, according to Zippia.

7. IKEA

IKEA may be 🅷known for its ready-to-assemble, affordable furniture and housewares but the company also tries to stay ahead of the trend by paying its workers a living wage.

The company announced in 2015 that it would raise its minimum wage in the U.S. to about $12 per hour effective in January 2016. This represented a 10.3% increase over the previous year.

Other retail store companies including Target and Walmart took steps to do the same in response to IKEA's initiative.

The company then announced another U.S. rate hike in 2021 to take effect in January 2022. Most entry-level workers would receive $16 while others would start at $17 to $18 depending on their locations. The company's action would result in an average hourly wage of $20.

IKEA's average hourly rate was $28.64 as of 2024 depending on store location.

8. Costco

Costco (COST) joined the momentum and has increased its minimum hourly rate 🦩several times sin💫ce 2016.

It hiked its starting wage of $11.50 an hour to $13 in March 2016 and threw in company-sponsored health benefits to boot. Then it raised it to $14 in 2018.

Costco raised its minimum hourly wage again to $15 in March 2019.

The warehouse then boosted its average starting hourly rate from $16 to $17 in October 2021, the second increase that year, to keep its workers happy.

Costco's average hourly rate was $17.80 in 2024.

The Bottom Line

The minimum wage is the l♏east amount of money that any employer can pay its workers by federal or state law. This amount can vary based on what you do and where you live.🅠

Some companies take matters into their own hands by paying workers above and beyond what's legally required by the federal government. Our list above isn't an exhaustive one. Other major U.S. companies that are raising their minimum wages include Target, T.J. Maxx, Amazon, and Gap.

All these companies reported improved customer service, happier workers, savings, and more prof﷽essional candidates seeking to work 💧for them with their higher minimum wage rates.