Santa Fe city, county minimum hourly wage jumps to $15 this weekend
While the minimum wage for the city of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County is due to go up on Saturday, the annual increase will be the smallest in four years.
This year's 40-cent increase, from $14.60 to $15 an hour, will be the least the minimum wage has gone up since 2021, when it increased from $12.10 to $12.32. The minimum wage — or 'living wage,' as Santa Fe city and county officials refer to it — increased by 57 cents last year, $1.08 in 2023 and 63 cents in 2022.
Before 2021, increases of 40 cents or less per year were the norm.
The minimum wage for tipped workers in the city and county will increase from $4.38 to $4.50 on Saturday.
Bridget Dixson, president and CEO of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, acknowledged that this year's increase would be relatively small. But she said its impact on her members definitely would be felt.
'I think it's a little bit easier lift than in the past,' she said. 'But our businesses are really dealing with a lot right now. Crime has increased. They need an opportunity to find their footing.'
Dixson said many of her members are concerned about some of the measures state lawmakers are considering this session, including a bill that would raise the tax on alcohol.
'Businesses are getting hit in so many areas,' she said. Dixson said her organization does not do any outreach to alert its members to the annual minimum wage increase, but she said that is probably something it should be doing.
'Honestly, we're so focused on advocating for our businesses at the Legislature, we haven't done that,' she said.
Beginning in 2015, both the city and county began adjusting their minimum wage each year based on the previous year's increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for the Western Region for urban wage earners and clerical workers. County officials said the CPI increase for 2024 was 2.76%.
The city passed a law adjusting its minimum wage requirements based on the rate of inflation in 2007, while the county did likewise in 2015. When the city's minimum wage ordinance took effect in 2008, it effectively made Santa Fe a national leader in the living wage movement, which was initiated to supersede the federal minimum wage on a local or statewide basis.
Johanna Nelson, Santa Fe's economic development director, did not respond to an emailed list of questions about the minimum wage increase.
Historically, the federal minimum wage has remained static for many years at a time. It was increased to $7.25 an hour in 2009 but has not gone up since then.
Over time, Santa Fe's status as a national leader in the movement has eroded significantly. Even with this weekend's planned increase, the city will rank far below many others in the size of its minimum wage.
In fact, the five cities with the highest minimum wage are all in Washington state — Burien ($21.16 for large companies, $20.16 for medium companies), Tukwila ($21.10 and $20.10), Renton ($20.90 and 18.90), Seattle ($20.76 for all companies) and SeaTac ($20.17 for hospitality and transportation workers, $20.10 for medium companies).
Washington leads all states in the nation with a mandated minimum wage of $16.66.
Santa Fe also trails several large cities around the country, including Denver ($18.81); San Francisco ($18.67); San Jose, Calif. ($17.95); Washington, D.C. ($17.50), New York City ($16.50) and Chicago ($16.20).
New Mexico's statewide $12-an-hour minimum wage also trails various other states, including California ($16.50); Connecticut ($16.35); New York ($15.50); New Jersey ($15.13); and Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Illinois, Maryland and Delaware ($15). Among neighboring states, Colorado has a minimum wage of $14.81, while the rate in Arizona is $14.70.
New Mexico lawmakers are considering a measure that would increase the statewide minimum wage to $17 an hour, which would apply to tipped workers, as well. If it is passed, that would vault the state to the top of the national list.
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