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Data: National Employment Law Project; Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Missouri workers will start 2026 with a pay bump when the state's minimum wage reaches $15 on Jan. 1.

Why it matters: The increase boosts pay not only for minimum wage workers but also for employees slightly above the floor as businesses adjust their wage ladders.

By the numbers: Missouri's minimum wage will rise from $13.75 to $15 an hour on Jan. 1, the final step in the voter-approved phase-in, according to the National Employment Law Project. 

Tipped workers will earn $7.50 an hour before tips. 

Missouri and Nebraska are the two states crossing the $15 threshold at the start of 2026.

The latest: Lawmakers who sought to scale back the 2024 ballot measure succeeded this year.

A follow-up bill removed future inflation indexing that would have increased the wage beyond 2026, while leaving the scheduled jump to $15 intact.

Worker advocates argued that removing inflation adjustments will weaken the wage's value as costs continue to rise, but lawmakers framed the rollback as a way to give employers more predictability.

The big picture: For the first time, more U.S. workers in 2026 will live in states with minimum wages of $15 or higher than in states still tied to the federal $7.25 floor.

Missouri's minimum wage hits $15 on Jan. 1

Missouri's minimum wage jumps to $15 on Jan. 1, boosting pay for hundreds of thousands of workers statewide.

Missouri workers will start 2026 with a pay bump when the state&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="minimum wage" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/01/minimum-wage-san-francisco-los-angeles" data-vars-content-id="251ffdae-5a40-44b7-a56c-0ca6c319f4fc" data-vars-headline="Missouri&#x27;s minimum wage hits $15 on Jan. 1" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/01/minimum-wage-san-francisco-los-angeles" target="_self">minimum wage</a> reaches $15 on Jan. 1.Why it matters: The increase boosts pay not only for minimum wage workers but also for employees slightly above the floor as businesses adjust their wage ladders.

Emily Peck

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