The Bellingham Herald
Daniel Schrager
Updated April 30, 2025
For the third time in just over 12 months, Bellingham will have a new minimum wage.
On Thursday, May 1, the citywide minimum wage will jump to $18.66, which is $2.00 higher than the statewide rate, and $1.00 higher than the city’s current rate of $17.66.
The 2023 ballot measure that established the citywide minimum wage implemented in stages. First, the citywide rate was set at $1.00 above the statewide rate starting on May 1, 2024, before jumping to $2.00 above the statewide rate on May 1, 2025.
Since the citywide rate is determined by the state’s minimum wage, it also changes each Jan. 1, when the Department of Labor and Industries sets its annual adjustment the statewide rate to account for changes to the cost of living. At the start of 2025, Bellingham’s minimum wage went from $17.28 to $17.66.
The citywide rate will remain $2.00 above the statewide rate going forward, and will change along with the state’s minimum wage at the start of every year.
According to the city’s municipal code, the minimum wage applies to “all hours worked by employees within the geographic boundaries of the city of Bellingham,” adopting the state’s definition of employee. Additionally, state law requires that tips are paid on top of an employee’s hourly wage.
The Bellingham municipal code does carve out an exception for city employees, since the city charter prohibits fixing the wages of the city’s workers. However, the city is “encouraged” to adhere to the new minimum wage.
At $16.66, Washington’s minimum wage is the highest of any state in the country (except for Washington, D.C. at $17.50). It is also over twice the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
Bellingham is one of only a few Washington cities to establish its own minimum wage. According to Labor and Industries, Seattle has the highest baseline rate in the state at $20.76 an hour, while Burien, which allows employers with 20 or fewer employees to follow the statewide rate, has the highest minimum wage for businesses with over 500 employees at $21.16 an hour.
The minimum wage in Renton and Tukwila follows a similar structure. Businesses with fewer than 15 employees follow the statewide minimum wage while businesses with between 15 and 500 employees have to pay their workers a higher rate ($18.90 an hour, soon to be $19.90 in Renton, and $20.10 an hour in Tukwila). Businesses with over 500 employees have to pay their workers a higher rate – around $21 in both cities.
Everett’s minimum wage, which goes into effect July 1, will follow that format as well, with the highest bracket paying $20.24 an hour.
Unincorporated King County also has its own minimum wage: $20.29 an hour for large employers, $18.29 an hour for mid-sized businesses and $17.29 an hour for small businesses.
Read the original article here.
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