GREAT FALLS — Montana’s minimum wage will increase from $8.65 per hour to $8.75 per hour beginning on Friday, Jan. 1, 2021.
The state reports that an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Montana workers, or about 2% of the workforce, received hourly wages less than $8.75 per hour in 2020.
At the beginning of 2020, the minimum wage in Montana was raised from $8.50 to $8.65.
The minimum wage is determined by taking the current minimum wage of $8.65 and increasing it by the CPI-U increase from August of 2019 to August 2020.
The CPI-U increased by 1.31% (unadjusted) over the year ending August 2020.
To keep the minimum wage at the same purchasing power as the prior year, the wage should increase by 11¢ per hour, according to the Montana Department of Labor & Industry.
However, since state statute requires the wage to rounded to the nearest 5¢ cents, the 2021 minimum wage rate will be $8.75.
In 2020, the District of Columbia and 29 U.S. states, including Montana, have minimum wage rates that exceed the federal rate of $7.25 per hour.
A map of state minimum wage laws is available on the U.S. Department of Labor’s website.
Click here for more information on the minimum wage in Montana.
