Caregiver Minimum Wage Increases on January 1, 2027, by State

Fifteen states raise their minimum wage on January 1, 2027: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia and Washington. New York leaves its general minimum where it is but raises the minimum for home care aides to $20.00 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $19.00 elsewhere. Vermont also adjusts on January 1, but had not announced its 2027 rate when we checked on October 28, 2026. Every figure below comes from the state’s own labor department, statute or official announcement.

Which states raise the minimum wage on January 1, 2027?

These fifteen. The last column is how much the bill rate for a caregiver paid the minimum has to rise to keep the same margin, using the bill rate calculator’s default costs (17% payroll burden, 8% paid non-billable time, $8.61 of overhead per billable hour, 12% margin).

Michigan’s $1.27 is the largest increase. It, Rhode Island’s $1.00 and Virginia’s $0.98 are steps written into state law, and Nebraska’s is a fixed 1.75% a year. The other eleven rise each year by a formula tied to inflation or, in Connecticut, wage growth.

Sources: Washington L&I, Connecticut Governor, California DIR, R.I. Gen. Laws 28-12-3, New Jersey Department of Labor, Colorado CDLE, Maine Department of Labor, Arizona Industrial Commission, Nebraska Department of Labor, MCL 408.934, Va. Code 40.1-28.10, South Dakota DLR, Minnesota DLI, Ohio Department of Commerce, Montana DLI.

Does every employer in those states pay the new rate?

Almost every home care agency does, but a few states set a lower rate for small employers:

• New Jersey: seasonal employers and employers with fewer than six employees go from $15.23 to $16.25.
• Ohio: employers with annual gross receipts under $419,000 in 2027 may pay the federal $7.25.
• Nebraska: the state minimum applies to employers with four or more employees.
• Montana: a business with annual sales of $110,000 or less that is not covered by the federal wage law may pay $4.00. Most home care agencies are covered by federal law, so this rarely applies.

Cities and counties can set their own, higher minimums. Denver’s goes from $19.29 to $19.84 on January 1, 2027, and Flagstaff’s reaches $18.95. Many California cities also set higher rates. Pay whichever is highest where the caregiver works.

What changes for home care aides in New York?

New York’s general minimum wage stays at $17.00 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $16.00 in the rest of the state on January 1, 2027. The Department of Labor says an inflation “off-ramp” in the law was triggered for 2027. The separate minimum for home care aides does rise, to $20.00 and $19.00. The Governor has proposed raising both from March 1, 2027, but that needs the Legislature’s approval and is not law. See New York home care aide minimum wage 2027 for who it covers and how Wage Parity adds to it.

Which states raise it later in 2027?

Not every state moves on January 1. Alaska rises from $14.00 to $15.00 on July 1, 2027, and Oregon and the District of Columbia adjust on July 1 each year. Florida reached $15.00 on September 30, 2026; its first inflation adjustment takes effect January 1, 2028. Missouri stays at $15.00 after the legislature repealed its inflation indexing in 2025. Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts have no change scheduled for January 1, 2027.

What does a minimum wage increase do to your bill rate?

Each extra dollar of wage costs more than a dollar to bill. Payroll taxes and workers’ comp ride on the wage, paid non-billable time multiplies it, and your margin is a share of the price. With the calculator’s default costs, every $1.00 of wage needs about $1.44 more on the bill rate:

Overhead per hour doesn’t change with the wage, so it drops out of the increase. Swap in your own burden, non-billable share and margin in the bill rate calculator: pick your state and switch between today’s minimum and the January 1 rate to see both bill rates side by side.

What if you already pay above the new minimum?

Then the law doesn’t force a change, but the market usually does. If your starting wage is $16.00 in a state going to $15.71, your entry job now pays 29 cents over the floor instead of 84 cents. Caregivers who earned a raise last year will notice when a new hire starts at nearly the same rate. Most agencies move their whole pay scale when the floor moves, not just the bottom step. The home care rates calculator starts from your state’s median aide wage and shows when the January minimum would push it up.

What should you do before January 1?

Update pay rates in payroll, recheck overtime math at the new rate, rerun your bill rate and send private-pay clients notice of any rate change. The step-by-step version is our January bill rate update checklist.

How Caregiver Scheduling helps

Timesheets, private-pay invoicing at each client’s own rate and QuickBooks export are coming soon. Today, GPS check-in gives you a verified record of the hours worked. $199/month for up to 10 caregivers or $299/month for up to 50, free for 30 days.

FAQ

What is the highest state minimum wage in 2027? Washington’s $17.73, from January 1, 2027. The District of Columbia, at $18.40 since July 1, 2026, is higher than any state, and several cities are higher still.

Does the federal minimum wage change in 2027? No. It stays at $7.25, where it has been since 2009. It applies in states with no higher minimum of their own.

Do minimum wage increases apply to live-in caregivers? Yes, for every hour that counts as work time. Rules on sleep time and meal breaks decide how many hours that is. See the overtime rules by state.

Do Medicaid rates go up when the minimum wage does? Not automatically. Medicaid rates are set by each state’s fee schedule or managed care contract, and they change on the state’s own timeline. Check your state’s Medicaid rate before assuming the increase is covered.

Rates checked against each state’s primary source on October 28, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.