ALBANY, N.Y. — Employees across New York State who make minimum wage can expect to earn 50 cents more per hour starting on New Year’s Day.
For most of the state, including the Rochester area, the state minimum wage will increase to $16 per hour. That translates to $640 of earnings a week and about $33,000 a year. For New York City, Westchester County, and Long Island, the minimum wage will increase to $17 per hour.
The state agreed to raise the minimum wage as part of the budget that lawmakers passed for the 2024 fiscal year. The minimum wage rose to $15 per hour in Upstate New York in 2024, followed by a 50-cent increase this year. For the New York City area, the minimum wage rose to $16 per hour in 2024.
In 2027, the minimum wage increase will depend on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Northeast Region. The state says that’s the best regional measure of inflation.
For Related Stories: Minimum wage increase New Year Rochester