Roughly 50,000 Rhode Islanders earn minimum wage, according to Gov. Dan McKee’s office.

The minimum wage is scheduled to increase to $17 over the next two years.

Rhode Island’s minimum wage will increase from $15 to $17 over the next two years under a new law that Gov. Dan McKee formally signed on Aug. 4, 2025.

The law increases the minimum wage to $16 on Jan. 1, 2026 and to $17 on Jan. 1, 2027.

It does not include a schedule for any automatic raises after that. Rhode Island’s last minimum wage increase, to $15-an-hour, went into effect in January 2025. McKee signed legislation in 2021 that raised the minimum wage from $11.50 to $15 over four years.

Who does the minimum wage increase apply to?

An estimated 50,000 Rhode Islanders currently earn minimum wage, according to a press re

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