Philadelphia minimum wage gap: How much more you could make in NJ, Delaware
Mayor Parker calls for minimum wage increase
During a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Mayor Cherelle Parker called for an increase of Pennsylvania's minimum wage and wants city workers to return in-person, full-time.
PHILADELPHIA - It takes less than 10 minutes to drive from Philadelphia into Camden, New Jersey, but it may feel worlds apart for minimum-wage workers.
By the numbers:
Pennsylvania remains fixed to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Because state law preempts local municipalities from setting their own private-sector wages, the city is legally barred from bridging the gap locally.
However, relief for Philadelphia-area workers is often just a short transit ride or drive away. New Jersey's minimum wage increased to $15.92 an hour this year, while Delaware has also left Pennsylvania behind with a minimum wage of $15 an hour.
A full-time worker in either New Jersey or Delaware makes more than double what a minimum-wage worker in Pennsylvania makes, giving Philadelphia residents the motivation to possibly commute out of the city daily for work.
PA House passes bill to raise minimum wage to $11 by 2027, $15 by 2029, bill heads to Senate
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed House Bill 2189 to raise the state's minimum wage, moving the bill to the Senate for consideration.
Dig deeper:
Philadelphia businesses face a unique crisis, competing with the $15 and over wages in New Jersey and Delaware, while potentially suffering from worker turnover as people secure jobs across the river.
Federal baseline
Big picture view:
The federal minimum wage was set to $7.25 in 2009 and hasn't moved a cent in 17 years. Pennsylvania is currently one of about 20 states that still default to the federal wage, making it an outlier in the otherwise high-paying Northeast corridor.
The Source: Information from this article was provided by the Economic Policy Institute.