So I was looking into which city has the highest minimum wage in the U.S. and honestly the disparity is wild. While the federal minimum is still stuck at $7.25 (hasn't moved since 2009, can you believe that?), cities on the West Coast are basically operating in a completely different economy.

The highest minimum wage city is Tukwila, Washington at $20.29 per hour. Right next to it, Seattle's at $19.97 and SeaTac at $19.71. California's got a bunch in the top 10 too - West Hollywood ($19.08), Mountain View ($18.75), Emeryville ($18.67), Sunnyvale ($18.55), San Francisco ($18.07), and El Cerrito ($17.92). Denver rounds out the top 10 at $18.29.

What's interesting is that 58 cities and counties have set their own minimum wages higher than their state's minimum. And on Jan. 1 this year, about 9.9 million workers got pay increases. Hawaii had the biggest jump - $2 increase to $14, which is a 28% bump.

Meanwhile, if you're working minimum wage somewhere that's stuck at $7.25, your purchasing power has basically tanked. A dollar in 2023 only has about 70% of the buying power it had back in 2009. So that $7.25 was effectively worth like $5.11 in 2009 dollars.

The workers most likely to be earning minimum wage tend to be young (45% under 25), working part-time or in food service and hospitality. About 2% of women earn minimum wage compared to 1% of men. It's pretty concentrated in specific industries and demographics.

What's frustrating is that Congress keeps trying to push through federal increases - the latest was the Raise the Wage Act that would bump it to $17 by 2028 - but nothing sticks. So we're basically left with this patchwork where your minimum wage depends entirely on which city or state you're in. The gap between Tukwila and Mississippi is absolutely massive.