Bills that would raise the minimum wage for most workers to $20 an hour in five years, and others that would double the minimum wage for tipped workers are winding their way through the state legislature.
The minimum wage was raised to $15 an hour in January, giving Rhode Island the eighth highest minimum wage in the nation, tied with six other states, including Massachusetts. In New England only Connecticut has a higher minimum wage at $16.35 an hour.
The minimum wage bill was heard before the House Labor Relations Committee early this week and held for further study. It would have increased the minimum wage by a dollar a year from 2026 to 2030, when the minimum wage would be $20 per hour.
The highest minimum wage in the country is in the District of Columbia at $17.50 an hour. The lowest is actually below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour (13 states’ minimum wage is the federal minimum wage), and seven others have a minimum wage below the federal minimum wage.
Put in perspective, even the highest minimum wage doesn’t come close to what is considered a livable wage. According to multiple calculators, a living wage in Newport County for one adult with no children is $30.01 an hour, and for two adults (one working) with one child, the living wage is $47.87 an hour.
There are different bills in the state House of Representatives and state Senate, both of which would raise Rhode Island’s tipped wage from its current $3.89 an hour. State law says employers must make up the difference for workers earning below the $15 minimum wage.
A bill in the House would increase the tipped minimum wage gradually to $15 an hour in 2031. The Senate bill would raise the tipped minimum wage to $6.75 in 2026.
Federally, the tipped minimum wage is $2.13 an hour, and employers would have to make up the difference for workers earning below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
