New York’s minimum wage is set to increase on January 1.
Starting on that date, the statewide minimum wage will increase by 50 cents an hour.
In New York, Westchester County and Long Island, it will rise to $17 an hour. In the rest of the state, including the Syracuse area and New York state, it will increase to $16 an hour.
That’s an increase of about 3% in Downstate areas and 3.2% in the rest of the state.
The increase means an additional $20 per week for a minimum wage worker working full-time for 40 hours per week. In Upstate New York, that would mean a salary of $640 a week, or about $33,000 a year.
Starting in 2027, the minimum wage will increase by the three-year moving average of the consumer price index for municipal and administrative workers in the Northeast region, according to the state labor office.
The minimum wage increase in 2025, the upcoming increase in 2026 and the planned indexation of wages to inflation are the result of policy changes adopted earlier in the state budget process.
The legislation included provisions that allow wages to be frozen if the state’s economy weakens, so raises are not guaranteed.
New York’s minimum wage has risen substantially over the past 10 years.
Ten years ago it was $7.25 an hour. Once the latest increase takes place, the wage will increase by more than 120% over that level in New York State.
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