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What is the Minimum Wage in Florida in 2021? Trends, History, and Interesting Facts

By August 13th, 2021HR at Work

What is the Minimum Wage in Florida in 2021?

 

The minimum wage in Florida is $8.65 (per hour) effective January 1st, 2021. Florida’s minimum wage for servers and other tipped employees is $5.63. In comparison, the federal minimum for employees in the US is $7.25, and the lowest hourly rate for tipped employees is $2.13. See how Florida compares to other states by viewing the 2021 minimum wage by state map

The current minimum hourly rate is a result of the slight increase from the 2020 wage rate of $8.56. The increase by nine cents from January 2021 happened due to the constitutional amendment from 2004 that determined the wage increases to be influenced by the cost of living. As a consequence, there have been some amendments to the minimum wage laws in Florida prior to the beginning of 2021 [1].

2021 lowest wage rate in Florida

When will the Next Minimum Wage Increase Happen in Florida?

 

In addition to the recent hourly rate increase, Florida’s minimum wage will experience a series of consistent increases starting with a big jump to $10 effective on September 30th, 2021. This significant change was caused by a constitutional amendment set to eventually reach the state lowest wage rate of $15 per hour by 2026. The increases were determined to take effect yearly rising just by $1 to ensure a steady change [1].

Florida's Upcoming Minimum Wage Increases

What is the History of Florida’s Minimum Wage?

 

Looking at the State Labor Law records and going back to the early 2000s, Florida didn’t have a state minimum wage [4]. The federal lowest rate of $5.15 was effective from 2000 till 2004. Later in 2005, Florida enacted a state minimum wage of $6.15. 

The Minimum Wage in Florida - Historical Graph

Having experienced a series of small increases, Florida continued beating the federal minimum for the next 5 years. In 2010, Florida’s state wage became the same as the lowest federal rate.

In 2012, the lowest wage increased to $7.67 passing the federal minimum. It continued rising consistently to reach over $8 per hour in 2015 (see the infographic above) and up to the recent rates of $8.56 in 2019/2020 and $8.65 in 2021.

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Interesting Facts about the Minimum Wage in Florida

1

State vs Federal

As of January 2020, Florida became one of the 29 other states with a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum [2].
2

Plans on Increases

Florida is not the only state which has enacted a plan to reach a $15 per hour minimum wage. Other states that have approved the same increase include: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York [3].
3

Reports & Predictions

In relation to the recent minimum wage law amendments, the Congressional Budget Office released the 2021 report predicting raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 could benefit 17 million workers [2].
4

Did you Know?

If you look at the records of state minimum wage rates from 1968 till today, you will find that there was no state minimum wage in Florida until 2005 [4].
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