Economic Impact

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​Minneapolis Min Wage in a nutshell

​The Municipal Minimum Wage Ordinance phases-in its raises – on two tiers – for small and large businesses. The ordinance defines large businesses as more than 100 employees and small as 100 or fewer employees.

A $15 per hour rate is currently out of reach for as many as 78,000—or 1 in 4—workers in Minneapolis. But by 2024, those workers stand to see a pay bump—or several—assuming nothing else changes.

The minimum wage will be indexed to inflation after reaching $15 per hour wage. Employers must pay a minimum wage without including tips or gratuities.

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis to monitor economic impact

​The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is committed to conducting four annual reports, which will examine effects on workers and firms. This multi-year minimum wage impact study promises to include data never before accessed. The planned schedule for public release of these reports is:

1. Baseline Report covering 2014 - 2017 (already released, see below)
2. Year 1 Report covering 2018 wage increases (due March 31, 2020)
3. Year 2 report covering 2019 wage increase (due October 1, 2020)
4. Year 3 report covering 2020 wage increase (due October 1, 2021)

Meet economic researchers and follow additional coverage on the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis website.


The initial Baseline Report was released on September 13, 2018.  It described baseline trends in Minneapolis from 2000 to 2017. 

        Baseline Report 
        Baseline Report slide presentation

​The Baseline Report analysis of the Minneapolis labor market shows the demographic groups most frequently affected (by scheduled increases in the minimum wage) are those:

• With less than a high school education
• Younger than 25 years old
• Who identify as nonwhite

Industries most frequently affected include:

• The administrative services industry (i.e. subcontracted day-to-day support of another organization, such as temporary employees, office assistance, cleaning, facilities and grounds maintenance, and security) 
• The restaurant and other food services industries; and
• Retail sales, cashiers

The health care and education industries stand out due to their large overall sizes and proportion of workers affected. 

Other important findings in the Baseline Report include:

• While real wages (wages adjusted for inflation) have increased steadily in Minneapolis overall since the 2000's, real wages have decreased ("negative growth" including some recovery post 2011) for workers self-identifying as Black 
• Overall employment has now reached levels higher than in the early 2000's
• Overall number of establishments and worker turnover rates have both been declining

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