“Even in some states that have enacted higher minimum wages most recently, the relative value of those is still quite low when you’ve made this adjustment,” said David Cooper, an analyst with the Economic Policy Institute, which often advocates for pro-labor policies.
Take Hawaii, New Jersey, New York and Maryland, all of which recently raised the minimum wage. All but Hawaii rank among the top third of states. But each falls to the bottom 10 when that minimum wage is adjusted for its purchasing power. (To their credit, Hawaii, New York and Maryland have future scheduled increases.)
The comparison is made possible by using each state’s regional price parity, a relatively young government indicator for comparing prices across geographies. At the extremes, the cost of goods and services is about 13 percent below the national average — i.e. a dollar goes further — in Mississippi and Arkansas and 16 percent above the national average in Hawaii.
The measure factors in goods, housing and other services, with housing showing a much wider gap between extremes than the other categories.
“That is the single largest driver when it comes to regional price differences, so policymakers wanting to do something about this or sensitive to these things need to look at what housing policies look like in these regions,” Cooper said.
To their credit, state lawmakers have historically shown some sensitivity to variations in the value of a dollar, even without the purchasing power data.
“There is a strong correlation between the purchasing power parity data and the minimum wage amount, which shows that local policymakers are actually responsive to the conditions of their states,” said Alan Cole, an economist with the Tax Foundation who has mapped the variation in purchasing power by state.
As telling as the comparisons may be, Cole argued, they are more useful for lower-income workers than higher-income ones, since the purchasing power data accounts for a basic basket of goods and services.
“When you’re talking about people who just want to get by, I think looking at just kind of the nuts and bolts of regular consumption are more appropriate,” he said.
| State | Minimum wage | Adjusted minimum wage |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | 8.50 | 9.70 |
| Oregon | 9.25 | 9.37 |
| Washington | 9.47 | 9.18 |
| Rhode Island | 9.00 | 9.17 |
| Vermont | 9.15 | 9.13 |
| West Virginia | 8.00 | 9.05 |
| Ohio | 8.10 | 9.04 |
| District of Columbia | 10.50 | 8.92 |
| Nebraska | 8.00 | 8.84 |
| Michigan | 8.15 | 8.65 |
| Missouri | 7.65 | 8.58 |
| Arkansas | 7.50 | 8.57 |
| Montana | 8.05 | 8.53 |
| Connecticut | 9.15 | 8.43 |
| Nevada | 8.25 | 8.40 |
| Massachusetts | 9.00 | 8.39 |
| Mississippi | 7.25 | 8.35 |
| Arizona | 8.05 | 8.29 |
| Alabama | 7.25 | 8.27 |
| Alaska | 8.75 | 8.25 |
| Minnesota | 8.00 | 8.20 |
| Illinois | 8.25 | 8.17 |
| Florida | 8.05 | 8.15 |
| Kentucky | 7.25 | 8.14 |
| Delaware | 8.25 | 8.14 |
| Oklahoma | 7.25 | 8.06 |
| Colorado | 8.23 | 8.05 |
| Iowa | 7.25 | 8.03 |
| California | 9.00 | 8.01 |
| South Carolina | 7.25 | 8.01 |
| Tennessee | 7.25 | 8.00 |
| Kansas | 7.25 | 7.98 |
| Louisiana | 7.25 | 7.95 |
| Indiana | 7.25 | 7.93 |
| North Dakota | 7.25 | 7.93 |
| North Carolina | 7.25 | 7.91 |
| New Mexico | 7.50 | 7.89 |
| Georgia | 7.25 | 7.89 |
| Idaho | 7.25 | 7.81 |
| Wisconsin | 7.25 | 7.80 |
| Maine | 7.50 | 7.68 |
| New York | 8.75 | 7.59 |
| Wyoming | 7.25 | 7.57 |
| Texas | 7.25 | 7.50 |
| Utah | 7.25 | 7.46 |
| Maryland | 8.25 | 7.44 |
| Pennsylvania | 7.25 | 7.35 |
| New Jersey | 8.38 | 7.32 |
| Virginia | 7.25 | 7.04 |
| New Hampshire | 7.25 | 6.85 |
| Hawaii | 7.75 | 6.67 |


