26 states will raise the minimum wage this year

The federal government isn’t moving on raising the minimum wage from $7.25 — but states and cities are.

The big picture: A total of 26 states are set to raise their minimum wage in 2022, according to an analysis by consulting firm Wolters Kluwer.

• On top of that, 56 municipalities will bump their pay floors, for a record year of increases, according to the National Employment Law Project.

Why it matters: The battleground has largely moved from the federal level and is playing out in statehouses across the country.

• At least 20 states have laws on the books preventing cities within their borders from instituting their own minimum wage hikes, Deirdre Kennedy, senior payroll analyst at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., tells Axios.
• Many of those states still hold the minimum wage near the rock-bottom federal level, which hasn't moved since 2009, she adds.

What to watch: With the federal mandate stagnant, companies themselves are also starting to establish minimum pay levels in an effort to improve recruitment and retention of quality employees, Kennedy says.

Go deeper: Record number of minimum wage increases set for 2022