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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.

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The China surprise

National

South Korea's stock market is a big leveraged AI bet

A line chart that tracks South Koreaâs KOSPI Composite Index from March 31, 2006, to May 27, 2026. The index was 1,359.6 in March 2006, reached 2,089.4 in April 2011, stood at 1,986.41 in May 2016 and peaked at 8,228.7 in May 2026.

South Korea Stock Exchange (KOSPI) Index

Data: Financial Modeling Prep; Chart: Emily Peck/Axios

The CEOs are losing confidence

A line chart that tracks quarterly CEO confidence from Q1 2015 to Q2 2026. The measure ranges from a low of 32 in Q4 2022 to a high of 82 in Q2 2021. It climbed through 2021, fell through 2022, then fluctuated, ending at 47 in Q2 2026.

CEO Confidence Measure

Data: The Conference Board and The Business Council; Note: A number below 50 reflects more negative than positive responses; Chart: Emily Peck/Axios

AI money is helping drive a boom in luxury homes

A line chart that shows annual changes in median U.S. home sale prices for luxury and non-luxury homes from March 2014 to April 2026, using a three-month moving average. Luxury peaks at 24.9% in June 2021 and falls to 3.6% by April 2026; non-luxury peaks at 16.2% in April 2022 and eases to 1.4%.

Annual change in median U.S. home sale price

Data: Redfin; Note: Luxury homes are those estimated to be in the top 5% of their metro area's price range, while non-luxury homes fall into the 35th–65th percentile; Chart: Emily Peck/Axios

SpaceX's galaxy math

A bar chart that compares SpaceX-related market categories by estimated total addressable market. AI is largest at $26.5 trillion, followed by connectivity at $1.6 trillion and space at $370 billion. Total TAM reaches $28.47 trillion, below U.S. GDP at $31.9 trillion.

SpaceX estimate of its total addressable market (TAM), by category

Data: SpaceX S-1; Bureau of Economic Analysis via Fred; Chart: Emily Peck/Axios

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Featured stories

The China surprise

South Korea's stock market is a big leveraged AI bet

The CEOs are losing confidence

AI money is helping drive a boom in luxury homes

SpaceX's galaxy math