Richmond, Calif., just approved America's highest minimum wage

Richmond, Calif., just approved America&#039;s highest minimum wage

last updated 8 January 2015

The city council of Richmond, Calif., voted six-to-one late Tuesday to raise the city's minimum wage to $12.30 an hour by 2017, from $8 an hour now. That would give Richmond, a city just north of San Francisco, the highest minimum wage in the U.S. San Francisco currently holds that honor, at $10.74 an hour. You can bet that other local and state governments will be watching Richmond to see if businesses pull out — or profit. This 2009 chart from the Economic Policy Institute suggests the latter — that's why even Walmart is considering throwing its weight behind raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour — but as with all labor policy, there will be winners and losers. --Peter Weber

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.