Closeup of ten and five dollar bills with American flag. Concept of 15 dollar federal minimum wage increase


A proposed bill at the Ohio Statehouse is expected to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour. The legislation outlines that increases would happen between 2026 and 2029. 

According to WCMH reporting, minimum wage would jump to $12 beginning Jan. 1, 2026, and increase by $1 each year until it hit $15 on Jan. 1, 2029. After that, the director of commerce would have the option to adjust the rate annually on the first of the year. 

Ohio's current minimum wage is $10.70 per hour, which is lower than more than half of the other states across the country. Of the 27 states with higher salaries, nearly a dozen are already above $15 an hour.

Meanwhile, the federal minimum wage is just $7.25 per hour, an unlivable wage in Ohio. The National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio recently reported that full-time workers must earn at least $22.51 an hour if they wanted to afford a two-bedroom apartment.