Pennsylvania House passes bill to increase state minimum wage to $15 by 2029

When Brittany Seanor was working as a manager at Subway, it was a struggle to keep employees because the wages were so low. In a team of about 12 workers, there was constant turnover; the only people who worked there for a full year were herself and another manager. 

“Minimum wage in general has always impacted me,” said Seanor, who lives outside of Pittsburgh. “What I had to do was hire people maybe at $8 an hour. This was three years ago. It wasn’t even that far long ago. Nobody wanted to work for us. We kept losing workers.” 

Across Pennsylvania, there are tens of thousands of workers earning the state’s $7.25 minimum wage — a far cry from the $23.32 that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s living wage calculator estimates a single person with no children needs to earn to make a livable wage in the commonwealth. An individual working 40 hours a week at a minimum-wage job does not make enough to live above the federal poverty line, which in 2026 is calculated at an income of $15,960 a year.

People earning minimum wage struggle to pay for basic necessities like rent, food and health care, workers and policy experts told the Pennsylvania Independent. As costs rise in Pennsylvania and across the country, those dollars are stretched even further.

Now, Democratic lawmakers are hoping to put more money into workers’ pockets with legislation that would increase the state’s minimum wage to $11 in 2027, $13 in 2028, and $15 by 2029. The Democratic-led state House of Representatives on March 24 passed the bill, sponsored by Rep. Jason Dawkins of Philadelphia, and it’s now before the Republican-controlled state Senate. 

“It’s been my mission to provide a living wage for all working Pennsylvanians, and this bill passing the House is a huge step forward in that mission,” Dawkins said in a press release. “If you work hard, you shouldn’t have to worry about your next meal or having a roof over your head. Pennsylvania needs a minimum wage suitable for everyone, not just to survive, but to thrive in our state.”

Pennsylvania lawmakers haven’t raised the commonwealth’s minimum wage since 2006, when they increased it to $7.15. The last time the minimum wage in Pennsylvania increased was in 2009, when the federal minimum wage was increased to $7.25 — Pennsylvania law requires that the state minimum wage be no lower than the federal. 

Since 2009, all of Pennsylvania’s neighboring states have increased their minimum wages. New York, for example, has a minimum wage of $16 (and $17 for New York City, Long Island and Westchester), New Jersey’s minimum wage is just under $16, Delaware is at $15, and Maryland’s is $15; in some Maryland counties, the minimum is higher than the state’s. Ohio’s minimum wage is $11, and West Virginia’s is $8.75.

For years, Democratic lawmakers have tried to raise the state’s minimum wage but have been blocked by Republican leadership, who have not brought minimum wage legislation to the floor for a vote. Since Democrats took control of the state House in 2023, the chamber has passed legislation to increase the minimum wage in 2023, 2025, and now in 2026. This year’s House bill garnered the support of all but two House Democrats. Democratic Reps. Frank Burns and Chris Rabb voted against it, though Rabb issued a statement saying his no vote was incorrectly recorded. Reps. Joe Emrick, Natalie Mihalek, Joe Hogan, and Kathleen Tomlinson were the only Republicans to vote in favor of the legislation. 

Senate Republicans have not issued a statement regarding the most recent minimum wage legislation. Last year, the House passed a bill that aimed to get Republicans on board by increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour in much of the state but only to $12 an hour in rural counties. Republican leadership did not bring that bill to the floor for a vote; it remained in committee.

“For more than 15 years, Pennsylvania’s minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour, falling further behind the cost of living and leaving hundreds of thousands of families struggling to make ends meet,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a press release. “You shouldn’t have to work two or three jobs just to put food on the table and a roof over your head. We need to raise the minimum wage so Pennsylvanians have a real shot at getting ahead. The House has answered the call and passed legislation to raise the minimum wage three separate times — now it’s time for the Senate to follow their lead and get this done.”

More than half a million workers in Pennsylvania earn less than $15 an hour, according to the governor’s office. The state Department of Labor and Industry reported in March that in 2025, there were 42,900 Pennsylvania workers earning minimum wage or less, 189,900 people making between $7.26 and $12 per hour, and 320,900 people earning between $12.01 and $15 an hour.

‘Improve the lives of a significant portion of Pennsylvanians’

Felicity Williams, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Policy Center in Harrisburg, and Laura Beltrán Figueroa, the research director at the center, said raising the minimum wage is long overdue, could lift people from poverty, and would help families with rising costs, including for food and health care. Williams praised the legislation for including cost-of-living adjustments after the minimum wage reaches $15 in 2029 and for allowing counties to raise their minimum wage above $15 an hour.

“Any legislation of this type would definitely improve the lives of a significant portion of Pennsylvanians,” Beltrán Figueroa said. 

However, Williams and Beltrán Figueroa said, it’s important for lawmakers to further address economic mobility and inequality in the commonwealth. Fifteen dollars an hour is not a livable wage now and it wouldn’t be when it would go into effect in 2029, Williams said.

Williams, who is from Pittsburgh, pointed to a recent study that found a single adult living in Pittsburgh needs to earn $95,472 a year to live comfortably. A family of four needs $238,534. The median household income in Pittsburgh is $65,742, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“While getting the $15 an hour is an important step, we’re not quite meeting the moment just yet in terms of getting there fast enough and getting beyond that,” Williams said.

The Pennsylvania Policy Center leaders said they are especially concerned about individuals who may lose public benefits, such as the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, because the $15 minimum wage could put them above the threshold to qualify, but they still wouldn’t be able to afford basic necessities like food and housing.

“We have to be really careful and do analysis to say, as we’re increasing this minimum wage, are we kicking people off of eligibility for benefits that they still actually need, or are we setting the minimum wage at a level where they are actually able to afford to pay for those things?” Williams said. 

“Any type of policy that increases the minimum wage has to have that level of analysis and needs to have that companion legislation or policy that ensures that people are not kicked off public benefits,” she added.

For Seanor, $15 an hour is not a livable wage: She said lawmakers should consider raising that number. 

“Are we actually making sure that’s a livable wage in Pennsylvania? Because I can tell you right now: It’s not,” she said.

Seanor, who noted that she wasn’t able to afford her rent when she was making $19 an hour at a previous job, said she’d like to see lawmakers consider a different approach when it comes to the minimum wage. 

“If we’re going to do something big, do something big,” she said. “Why aren’t we taking initiative, saying, You know what? Due to inflation, and due to everything else, this minimum wage still isn’t going to be enough, so let’s make it to 20 bucks an hour?”

Faylynn Kassander, a Johnstown resident and union leader, said she would be thrilled to see the minimum wage increase to $15 an hour. 

“A lot of people are relying on these wages to support their families, and raising that minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 would make it a thriving wage for a lot of families, versus a living wage,” she said. “You know, a living wage, you’re paycheck to paycheck. A thriving wage means you might be able to save some money for a medical emergency, or you might be able to save some money for auto repairs, things that can be catastrophic to somebody economically.”

Kassander is the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3157, a union chapter that is part of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, or AFL-CIO. Kassander herself has previously made less than $15 an hour — in 2017, she started at her workplace, which provides services for adults with intellectual disabilities, and earned $11.73.

“A lot of times I would have to choose between my electric bill or food, or a car payment or a gas bill,” said Kassander, whose pay has increased to $19.57 after union negotiations. “Now, fortunately, I don’t have to make those choices.”

Low-wage jobs can drive people to find work in other states in search of better pay, Kassander said.

“I’ve seen people leave the state,” she said. “I’ve seen people leave the job. I’ve seen people losing their homes or their automobiles. We actually had a gentleman that worked for us that was homeless, sleeping in his car.

“A raise like that could be life-changing for somebody, in positive way,” she continued. “Imagine that you’re working a job, you’re only making seven and a quarter, and you got to live in your car, and then all of a sudden you get a raise and now you’re making 15-plus. That means you can save money and get an apartment maybe.”

Source: Pennsylvania Independent