Vermont to raise minimum wage by 49 cents in January

This story by Sophie Levenson was first published in the Valley News on Nov. 10, 2026. Vermont’s minimum wage will rise from $14.42 to $14.91 an hour on Jan. 1, the Vermont Department of Labor announced Monday. Though a 49-cent hourly increase could seem marginal, it amounts to about $1,000 more a year for someone who works 40 hours a week. The raise is automatic. Under 21 V.S.A. § 384, the state adjusts the minimum wage every year by the lesser of 5% or the increase in the Consumer Price Index. The Department of Labor uses the CPI-U, not seasonally adjusted, from August to August. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 3.4% increase over that period this year, which produced this year’s 49-cent bump. Last year, the minimum wage rose 41 cents, from $14.01 to $14.42. The current version of the law took effect in 2020, when the Vermont Legislature overrode Gov. Phil Scott’s veto. It raised the minimum wage to $12.55 by 2022 and resumed annual inflation adjustments after that.

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