Minimum wage in Missouri jumps to $15 an hour beginning Thursday

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- The second of two planned increases to Missouri’s minimum wage is set to take effect on Thursday, jumping by more than a dollar after approval from voters in 2024.

Missouri’s minimum wage is scheduled to increase from $13.75 an hour to $15 an hour beginning Jan. 1, 2026. 

The increase is the second planned raise as part of Proposition A passed in the November 2024 general election, a measure approved by 58% of voters. The measure initially boosted Missouri’s minimum wage from $12.30 to $13.75.   

The increase to $15 marks a significant change from the rate workers saw in 2018, when the state minimum wage hovered around $7.85 an hour. 

The minimum wage increase in Missouri aligns with a growing nationwide political movement called Fight for 15. Missouri’s measure was backed by Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages. 

Since 2014, 28 states have raised minimum wage laws despite the federal minimum remaining stagnant at $7.25 since 2009.