Starting Jan. 1, Ohio's minimum wage will increase to $11.40 per hour for non-tipped employees, a 3.5% increase from the current rate of $11 per hour.
The minimum wage for tipped employees will increase
to $5.70 per hour from the current $5.50 per hour.
In 2006, Ohio voters tied minimum wage to inflation, and the rate has increased ever since. Efforts to increase Ohio's minimum wage to $15 per hour − either with a constitutional amendment or state law change − have failed.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimates that a living wage for a single Ohioan with no children is $21 an hour. A family with two working adults and two children would need to earn $27.19 an hour for a living wage. That would cover food, housing, transportation and other necessities for someone working full-time.
The minimum wage changes apply to companies earning more than $420,000 annually, an increase from $405,000 currently. The minimum wage is lower, $7.25 per hour set by the federal government, for employees of those businesses and 14- and 15-year-old workers.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@usatodayco.com or @jbalmert on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio minimum wage increases in 2027. What is the new rate?
