6 days Ago By Mike Rogoway
Oregon’s minimum wage will rise by 35 cents an hour on July 1, state labor officials announced Friday. The state raises its minimum wage every year to keep pace with inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. High inflation rates since the pandemic have thereby pushed the minimum wage up sharply over the past three years.
The amount varies, though, because Oregon has three different minimum wages to account for variances in the cost of living in different parts of the state. Eastern Oregon and most of Southern Oregon have the lowest minimums, which will rise to $14.05.
In areas around Medford, Bend and most of the Willamette Valley and the northern coast, the hourly minimum is increasing to $15.05. The minimum wage in Portland and its suburbs, at $16.
30 an hour, will top $16 an hour for the first time. All three tiers are far above the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 an hour since 2009.
Oregon has one of the highest minimum wages in the nation – but not the very highest. The District of Columbia, for example, sets its minimum at $17.50 an hour.
Burien, Washington, requires large employers to pay at least $21.16 an hour. -- Mike Rogoway covers Oregon technology and the state economy.
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