Missouri's minimum wage rises Jan. 1, latest increased mandated by Proposition B

The minimum wage in the Show Me State will rise next month to $11.15 per hour, the latest yearly increase mandated by voter approval in November 2018 of Proposition B.

Prop B, which was disapproved by Cape Girardeau County voters on a 51.5% to 48.5% vote, raised the hourly minimum from $8.60 an hour in 2019 to $9.45 in 2020 and to $10.30 in 2021. The impact of the statewide referendum will sunset in 2023 when the minimum wage will rise to $12.00 per hour.

In the past, some cities in Missouri have enacted a higher minimum wage to more closely align with the cost of living in the area. In 2015, for example, the City of St. Louis mandated a minimum wage increase to $10 an hour.

Employees exempted from the minimum wage rate are the following.

• Tipped employees, who must be paid at least half of the current minimum wage -- $5.575.
• Any business doing gross annual sales or business of less than $500,000 are allowed to pay employees less than the minimum wage.
• Most agricultural and farm employees are exempt from the Missouri minimum wage.

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