It wasn’t that long ago that a minimum wage of $15 or more was something only seen in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle, but that will be the case for the entire state of Arizona in 2026.
Following the release of the latest Consumer Price Index report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers in Arizona will have to pay workers at least $15.15 an hour starting Jan. 1, 2026. Currently, the minimum wage is $14.70 an hour.
The 45-cent increase is directly tied to the latest CPI report, which showed a 2.9% increase in inflation from August 2024 to August 2025.
