Minimum wage to go up in Arizona and California January 1, 2020

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KSWT, KECY) - The New Year will bring pay raises to the hundreds of thousands of workers in Arizona and California who earn minimum wage.

On January 1, 2020 the minimum wage in Arizona will go up by a full dollar to $12 an hour. It's the last major increase under Proposition 206, the Minimum Wage and Paid Time Off Initiative passed by voters in 2016. Beginning in 2021, the minimum wage will rise at the same rate as the cost of living.

California's minimum wage will also go up on New Year's Day. Minimum wage workers at businesses with fewer than 25 employees will earn $12 an hour as of January 1. Those who work for companies with more than 26 employees will make $13 an hour.

California voters also approved a minimum wage increase measure in 2016. However, it calls for a dollar raise each year until 2023 when the state minimum will reach $15 an hour.

Arizona and California are just two of the 24 states poised to raise their minimum wages in 2020. Another 48 cities and counties will also give workers a pay raise in the new year.