The federal minimum wage in 2009 was $7.25 per hour, a rate that took effect on July 24, 2009. For the first half of that year, the rate was $6.55 per hour. The July increase was the final step in a three-part schedule Congress had set two years earlier.
How the 2009 Rate Came About
The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 raised the federal minimum wage in three annual steps, each taking effect on July 24:
- 2007: $5.15 to $5.85
- 2008: $5.85 to $6.55
- 2009: $6.55 to $7.25
The $7.25 rate applied to all covered, nonexempt workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act. It has not been raised since, making 2009 the last year Congress increased the federal minimum wage.
What $7.25 Was Worth in 2009
A full-time worker earning $7.25 an hour in 2009, working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, would have grossed about $15,080 before taxes. That was a meaningful boost from the $13,624 a full-time worker at the previous $6.55 rate would have earned.
In purchasing power terms, $7.25 went considerably further in 2009 than it does today. By 2022, the same $7.25 wage bought roughly 27% less in real terms than it did when the rate first took effect, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Inflation has continued to erode that value in the years since.
State Rates That Exceeded the Federal Level
Even before the July 2009 increase brought the federal floor to $7.25, a number of states already required higher pay. Workers in those states earned whichever rate was higher, state or federal.
Several states set their 2009 minimums at $8.00 or above. Washington led at $8.55 per hour, followed by Oregon at $8.40, Vermont at $8.06, and a group including California, Connecticut, Illinois, and Massachusetts at $8.00. More than two dozen states and the District of Columbia had rates above the pre-July federal rate of $6.55.
After the federal rate jumped to $7.25 in July, many of those state rates still remained higher. Workers in states like Washington, Oregon, California, and Connecticut continued to earn more than the new federal floor. In states where the minimum matched or fell below $7.25, the federal rate became the effective wage.
Why the 2009 Rate Still Matters
The $7.25 rate set in 2009 remains the federal minimum wage. No subsequent legislation has changed it. That makes 2009 a reference point for any discussion of minimum wage policy, because every year that passes without an increase widens the gap between the nominal rate and what it can actually buy. A worker earning $7.25 today takes home the same dollar amount as a worker in July 2009, but faces prices that are substantially higher for housing, food, transportation, and most other essentials.