Seattle’s minimum wage and Washington’s statewide minimum are both going up on Jan. 1, and the gap between them is staying wide: $22.14 an hour inside the city, $17.73 everywhere the state rate is the floor. That is $4.41 an hour apart, on a full-time schedule more than $9,000 a year.
The statewide figure comes from the Washington Department of Labor & Industries, which announced it Sept. 30, about three months before it takes effect. The state’s minimum wage page lists $17.73 for 2027, up from $17.13 in 2026. Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards lists the city’s rate going from $21.30 to $22.14 on the same date.
How the state sets its number
The department adjusts the minimum wage every year for inflation, using the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, known as CPI-W. The calculation begins in mid-September, the agency says, the new rate is announced Sept. 30 and it takes effect Jan. 1. The $0.60 increase is 3.5%, according to an analysis of the 2027 changes published Nov. 4 by the law-firm commentary service JD Supra.
For most workers in the state, $17.73 is the rate. The department says most agricultural and non-agricultural jobs qualify for the minimum wage, while some workers can be paid less, including certain criteria-based workers and jobs exempt from the Minimum Wage Act. Workers ages 14 and 15 can be paid no less than 85% of the minimum wage, which the department lists as $15.07 an hour for 2027.
Seattle’s own scale
Seattle sets a separate minimum for employees working inside city limits. According to the Seattle Office of Labor Standards, the city’s wage rises every Jan. 1 based on the CPI-W for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area, and the office announces the next year’s increase by the fall. For 2027 the rate is $22.14, up $0.84 from $21.30…