The Economic Policy Institute reports Nineteen states will raise their minimum wages.

• More than 8.3 million workers will get a raise starting January 1 as 19 states raise their minimum wages.
• For the first time, there will be more workers in states with a $15 or greater minimum wage than in states with the federal minimum of $7.25.
• Minimum wage increases are critical for improving affordability. State and federal policymakers should ensure wage floors meet the needs of all workers.
• Women make up the majority (58.1%) of affected workers.
• Black and Hispanic workers will disproportionately benefit. 10.7% of affected workers are Black, despite being 8.7% of the workforce in these states. Meanwhile, 38.3% of affected workers are Hispanic, despite being 19.8% of the overall workforce in these states.
• The vast majority (87.4%) of affected workers are adults, not teenagers.
• A quarter (25.3%) of affected workers are parents. 4.8 million children live in households with at least one worker receiving a pay increase.
• Nearly half (49.4%) are full-time workers and 41.4% have at least some college education.
• More than one in five (21.0%) affected workers have household incomes below the poverty line and 48.8% are within 200% of the poverty line.

But What Does It Mean?

To those impacted, the results may be significant. But to the economy as a whole, these hikes are essentially meaningless.

“Nineteen states will increase their minimum wages on January 1, boosting earnings for more than 8.3 million workers by a total of $5 billion.”

Personal Income and Real Personal Income

(Click on image to enlarge)

Personal Income Details

• Personal Income: $26.4 Trillion
• DPI Disposable Personal Income (After Taxes): $23.1 Trillion
• Real DPI (inflation adjusted) $18.0 Trillion
• Real PI Minus PCTR: $17.7 Trillion
• Real DPI Minus PCTR: $14.1 Trillion

What Is PCTR?

PCTR stands for personal current transfer receipts, money from the government for which no current services have been performed.

Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Disability payments, and SNAP (food stamps) are key examples.

You may feel like you earned your SS payment and I won’t argue. But no current services (work) by you are involved.

On January 22, 2026, I noted Real Spending Has Exceeded Real Income for Seven Straight Months

Real personal income peaked in April of 2025. Spending continues unabated.

Income is not keeping up with spending.

See the above post for more details.

Regardless, an increase of $5 billion with personal income at $26.4 trillion is not going to impact the economy at all.

Yet, the boost is important to many of those 8.3 million workers getting the pay hikes.

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