Wyoming is the best state in the country for employees who make minimum wage, according to a new Forbes study.

When adjusted for cost of living, $7.25 is actually worth $13.92 an hour in Wyoming, the highest rate in the nation. In Hawaii, where the minimum wage is nearly $3 an hour more than Wyoming, minimum wage drops from $10.10 to $6.12 an hour when adjusted for cost of living, the lowest rate in the country.

Hawaii is one of ten states where the adjusted minimum wage is lower than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Of the ten worst states for adjusted minimum wage, only Texas has an actual minimum wage below $8.25 an hour.

California, Massachusetts, and Washington have the highest minimum wage in the country at $12 an hour. When adjusted for cost of living, California ranked 13th nationwide at $10.45 an hour, Massachusetts ranked 21st with an adjusted minimum wage of $9.35 an hour, and Washington ranked 27th with an adjusted minimum wage of $8.58 an hour.

Oklahoma ranked second behind Wyoming for the highest adjusted minimum wage at $12.08 an hour. Both states pay the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Arizona, where the minimum wage is $11 an hour, has the third-highest adjusted minimum wage of $11.41 an hour, with Maine ($11.29) and Virginia ($11.26) rounding out the top five.

Around the region, Utah ranked ninth for adjusted minimum wage at $10.82 an hour, above their actual minimum wage of $ 7.25. Colorado was tenth with an adjusted minimum wage of $10.75, just below their actual minimum wage of $11.10. In Montana, where the minimum wage is $8.50, the adjusted minimum wage is $9.74 an hour, good for 18th place. Nebraska was 23rd with an adjusted minimum wage of $9.21, just above the state minimum wage of $9 an hour. South Dakota ranked 28th nationwide with an adjusted minimum wage of $8.45, below the state minimum wage of $9.10 per hour.

 

 

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