Blue State Minimum Wages Inch Upward, Widening Gap With South

A grocery store cashier who’s guaranteed $15 per hour in California can legally be paid $7.25 in Texas and 19 other states—a gap in state minimum wages that’s set to widen further in the year ahead.

It’s a geographic disparity that concerns pro-worker economists, while business interests say minimum wage laws alone don’t tell the whole story.

California, the District of Columbia, and much of New York already require wages of $15 per hour or more. Massachusetts, and likely Washington state, will join them in 2023. And California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced earlier this month that his state’s minimum ...