Minimum-wage increases took effect across the United States on 1 July, lifting statutory pay floors in three states—Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia—and in more than a dozen cities and counties from California to Maryland. The Economic Policy Institute estimates the moves will raise the earnings of about 880,000 workers by a combined $397 million over the next year. Washington, D.C. now requires employers to pay at least $17.95 an hour, up 45 cents under an inflation-linked formula. The city council, however, has postponed a separate jump in the base wage for tipped employees from $10 to $12 until the autumn, pausing part of voter-approved Initiative 82. Alaska’s hourly minimum climbed by $1.09 to $13, the first in a series of scheduled increases that will take the rate to $15 by 2027. In Oregon, the standard statewide wage rose 35 cents to $15.05, while Portland-area employers must now pay $16.30 and those in non-urban counties $14.05. Local governments also adjusted their pay floors, largely through annual inflation mechanisms. Ten California jurisdictions, including Los Angeles ($17.87), San Francisco and Berkeley (both $19.18) and Emeryville ($19.90), enacted modest increases. Chicago lifted its rate to $16.60, St. Paul moved to $15 for mid-sized firms, and Maryland’s Montgomery County raised its tiered minimum to as high as $17.65. In Washington state, Tukwila now leads with $21.10 an hour for many businesses, while Everett and Renton moved above $18 and $19 respectively.