Pennsylvania’s minimum wage—unchanged for 16 years—could finally be set for a dramatic increase under Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro’s newly unveiled 2026–27 budget proposal.
Why It Matters
In his budget address on Tuesday night, Shapiro pressed lawmakers to raise the state’s $7.25 hourly wage to $15, a move he argues is overdue both for workers and the state’s bottom line.
Shapiro’s administration projects that a $15 state minimum wage would reduce Medicaid spending by about $300 million in its first full year, tying wage policy to health and fiscal outcomes.
What To Know
The proposal would bring Pennsylvania in line with most of its neighboring states, many of which have already moved to $15 or are on a path toward reaching it.
Shapiro framed the change as both a moral imperative and a fiscal strategy, highlighting projected savings to state entitlement programs if wages rise.
Elsewhere in the United States, at least 18 states will increase minimum wages in 2026, including California, New York, New Jersey, and Missouri, reflecting ongoing divergence from the federal $7.25 rate.
Shapiro leaned on that national context during his plea, noting that Pennsylvania is now surrounded by states with higher wages and risks further regional economic divergence if it does not keep pace.
In Full: What Shapiro Said About Raising Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage
Governor Shapiro said during his 2026-27 Budget Address to the General Assembly and to the people of Pennsylvania:
You know how else we can put money in people’s pockets?
By finally raising the minimum wage.
Our minimum wage in Pennsylvania has been stuck at $7.25/hour for the last 16 years. In that time, every single one of our neighboring states has raised the wage for their workers.
Four of our 6 neighbors are at $15 or more. Ohio is on their way to $15. Even West Virginia is ahead of us.
The House of Representatives has passed legislation to increase our minimum wage twice. And each time, the Senate refused to act.
As Senator [ Christine] Tartaglione will tell you from the floor of the Senate later today, it’s been 7,150 days since Pennsylvania last passed legislation to raise the minimum wage. That’s hurting over half a million workers who are still making less than $15/hour. But you know what? Clearly, those arguments haven’t convinced our friends in the Senate to act over the last decade and a half.
So let me give you one more reason why we need to do this.
Because raising the minimum wage to $15/hour will save this Commonwealth $300 million a year on entitlement programs like Medicaid.
Not by adding arbitrary and cumbersome requirements that push people who still need help off the rolls, but by literally raising the wages of nearly 61,000 people who currently rely on Medicaid and make less than $15/hour. We can put more money in their pockets so they don’t need Medicaid anymore.
Listen.
If you aren’t going to do this because it’s the right thing to do…Or because it would let more families put food on the table for their kids…Then do it because it’s going to save us $300 million and shrink our entitlement budget by growing our workforce and putting more money back in our workers’ pockets.
I’m calling on lawmakers to put a minimum wage bill on my desk.
What People Are Saying
Republican Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman: “Quite frankly, if an individual’s making $7.25 an hour or $15 an hour, they’re not going to be able to effectuate the American dream. They’re not going to be able to buy a home. And that’s why we’ve continually been focused on pro-growth economic policies that bring all wages up to maximum wages.”
He added: “The governor simply wants to spend too much money in this budget, full stop.”
Democratic Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton: “Finally, Pennsylvania needs to stop leaving money on the table by failing to increase our outdated minimum wage.”
Republican Pennsylvania state Senator Lisa Baker: “The governor once again marries big spending increases with proposed taxes he has failed to achieve in past years. Speculative revenues are never a good way to support continuing spending.
“It is hard to see where additional votes would come from, because the arguments for and against have not changed.”
Pennsylvania House Republican Leader Jesse Topper: “Our number one priority must be providing the foundation for substantial economic growth in the Commonwealth to balance any future state budgets. We also must begin—right now—the hard work of reducing the size and scope of government so we do not continue to take too much from hardworking Pennsylvania taxpayers who are already struggling to make ends meet.”
What Happens Next
Any increase to Pennsylvania’s minimum wage would require action by both the House and the Senate before it could be sent to Shapiro’s desk
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