Missouri's minimum wage is now $13.75 an hour. What's it mean for MO & KS economies?

Missouri’s minimum wage rose to $13.75 per hour on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. Workers will also accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked in the state starting May 1.

The change is thanks to Proposition A, a ballot question passed by Missouri voters in November’s general election. The measure will increase the state’s minimum wage again to $15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2026.

A group of Missouri business groups mounted a legal challenge to the proposition Friday, Dec. 13. Their attempt to overturn the measure, which won 57.6% of the state’s popular vote, alleges that it violates a single-subject requirement for ballot measures by addressing both wages and sick leave in one proposition.

Until the lawsuit can proceed through the courts, Proposition A and its associated minimum wage increase remain in effect. Here’s what to know about how the new wage rules could impact Kansas and Missouri’s state economies.

What’s changing for Missouri workers?

Before Proposition A passed, Missouri’s minimum wage was set to be indexed to inflation. According to the Missouri Department of Labor, 2024’s minimum wage of $12.30 was set to rise to $12.65 in the new year. But Proposition A bumped that increase up by over $1, landing workers at $13.75.

This change gives Missouri the 18th highest minimum wage in the country. Washington, D.C., has the highest, at $17.50 per hour, while 20 states including Kansas follow the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Government employers, like social service agencies and school districts, are exempt from Missouri’s new minimum wage requirement.

Tipped employees in Missouri must be paid at least half the statewide minimum wage per hour, with the rest made up in tips. As of Jan. 1, that makes the tipped wage $6.88 per hour. However, if tips don’t bring workers up to $13.75 per hour, employers must pay their employees enough to make up the difference.

Another major change in Missouri is workers’ ability to accrue paid sick time. Starting on May 1, workers will bank one paid hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. That means a full 8-hour work day of paid sick time will take six full 40-hour work weeks to accrue.

What is Kansas’ minimum wage in 2025?

While Missouri’s minimum wage is on the rise, Kansas’ remains at the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour. That’s notable since three of the four states bordering Kansas all increased their minimum wages on New Year’s Day:

•Nebraska raised its minimum wage from $12 to $13.50

•Colorado raised its minimum wage from $14.42 to $14.81

•Missouri raised its minimum wage from $12.30 to $13.75

Oklahoma is the only state bordering Kansas that remains at the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.

Economist Donna Ginther, a distinguished professor of economics and the director of the Institute for Policy and Social Research and the University of Kansas, says the state’s persistently low minimum wage has led to low unemployment and worker scarcity.

“Kansas pays low wages to high-skilled workers compared to other states,” she said. “If people can just drive across the state line and get a higher wage, it will exacerbate our labor shortage.”

Kansas employers are free to set internal minimum wages that exceed the statewide threshold. The University of Kansas announced in June 2024 that it was raising its student employee minimum wage to $10.25 per hour and its staff minimum wage to $17.20 per hour, matching the wage mandated for federal contractors.

But many employers still choose not to pay their workers above the minimum amount required by law, which Ginther says contributes to Kansas’ declining population growth.

“Employers don’t like to be told what to pay their workers,” she said. “Some of the same political roadblocks are preventing an increase of the minimum wage at the federal level.”

What is a living wage in Missouri and Kansas?

A living wage is defined as the minimum amount needed to afford basic necessities like food, shelter and medical care. MIT’s Living Wage Calculator provides estimates for many states and cities based on the cost of living.

In Missouri, the living wage for a single, childless adult is $20.20 an hour. For a family of four with two working adults, the living wage is $24.31 an hour.

In Kansas City, it’s higher — in a family of four, both working adults must earn $25.64 an hour.

In Kansas, the living wage for a single, childless adult is $20.35 an hour. For a family of four with two working adults, the living wage is $23.65 an hour.

In Wyandotte County, both working adults in a family of four must earn $23.09 per hour. In Johnson County, the hourly living wage goes up to $27.05.

Neither state requires its employers to pay anywhere near the living wage. But Ginther added that Kansas’ reluctance to raise its wage floor doesn’t necessarily reflect the will of its population. She predicted that, if put on the ballot, Kansans would vote to raise their minimum wage just as Missourians did in November.

“In Kansas it’s not as easy to have a statewide referendum. My guess is, if you ran the same statewide referendum in Kansas, you would get the same results (as in Missouri),” she said.

“You’re not going to attract workers if you don’t pay them.”

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