Pa. voters overwhelmingly support increasing the state’s minimum wage, which falls far below surrounding states

Likely voters in Pennsylvania overwhelmingly support raising the state’s minimum wage, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer/New York Times/Siena College poll released Saturday.

At $7.25 an hour, Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is one of the lowest in the country, while surrounding states have significantly higher rates. Pennsylvania’s minimum wage matches the federal one and the state’s lawmakers have failed to increase it since the federal minimum wage was last set, in 2009.

According to the poll, 82% of all Pennsylvania voters somewhat or strongly support increasing the state minimum wage from its current rate. Just 14% of voters somewhat or strongly oppose an increase, while 5% either didn’t know or refused to answer. The strong preference for an increase based on 792 responses to the question falls far outside the survey’s margin of error.

The poll showing broad support for an increase comes as legislation to raise the wage has stalled for years in the divided Pennsylvania General Assembly. Notably, substantial majorities of voters across every demographic, regardless of gender, race, and education, support an increase.

Regionally, Philadelphia voters showed the most support for raising the wage, with 97% of respondents supporting an increase. While the group polled has a small sample size, Only 2% of Philadelphia participants polled did not support a wage increase.

Democrats were more likely to support raising the wage than Republicans, but most voters in both parties at least somewhat want an increase. Far more than half of surveyed eligible voters supported an increase, regardless of which presidential candidate they support.

Federal data compiled by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found the hourly living wage for a single person with no children is $21.95 in Pennsylvania. For a family of three adults and one child, the living wage is $30.67, according to the MIT living wage tool.

Pennsylvania stands out as the only state in the region wherein the minimum wage matches the federal minimum. New Jersey’s minimum wage is $15.13, more than double Pennsylvania’s rate.

It’s $13.25 in Delaware and $15 in Maryland. It’s $15 in the state of New York and $16 in New York City and its surrounding counties. To the west, in Republican strongholds, the minimum wage in West Virginia is $8.75 and $10.45 in Ohio for employers that bring in more than a set amount of revenue.

But raising the minimum wage in Pennsylvania has been tough, as lawmakers have failed to reach a deal. Republicans, who until 2023 controlled both the state House and state Senate, declined to take up the issue.

The Pennsylvania House, now with a narrow Democratic majority, approved a bill last year to increase the state’s minimum wage to $11 by January 2024, $13 by January 2025 and $15 by January 2026. All future increases would account for inflation beginning in 2027 under the bill. But the GOP-controlled state Senate never took up the House bill for a vote.

The economy is still the most important issue for Pennsylvania voters, according to the poll. And while the state’s voters still trust former President Donald Trump with the economy, more trust Vice President Kamala Harris to help the working class.

Support from the working class is crucial for both campaigns. An Inquirer analysis of election data found working-class support of Democratic candidates slipping in Philadelphia, especially in majority-Latino wards, where that decline came with an increase in support for the Republican Party.

Staff writer Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article.

Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to Philadelphia support for raising the minimum wage inaccurately. Among likely Philadelphia voters, 97%  support raising the minimum wage, including respondents who somewhat support and strongly support raising the minimum wage.