Bellingham citywide minimum wage to increase Jan. 1, with another change coming in May

For the second time in eight months, Bellingham will see its minimum wage increase.

Starting Jan. 1, the citywide rate will increase to $17.66, up from $17.28. The change is the result of a statewide minimum wage increase – Bellingham’s minimum wage is set at $1.00 higher than whatever the state’s rate is at the time. The Department of Labor and Industries adjusts Washington’s minimum wage at the start of each year to account for inflation.

Another Bellingham pay increase coming in May

The 2023 ballot measure that established the citywide minimum wage aimed to ease Bellingham businesses into the new wage floor. When the policy went into effect on May 1, 2024, it set the citywide rate at $1.00 above the state’s minimum wage. However, it specified that a year later, it would increase to $2.00 above Washington’s minimum wage.

As a result, Bellingham’s rate will increase again on May 1, 2025 to $18.66. After that, it will remain $2.00 higher than the state’s minimum wage, but will still increase each January when Washington once again adjusts its pay floor to account for changes to the cost of living.

How Bellingham compares to other WA cities

Bellingham is one of six Washington cities, along with unincorporated King County, to have a higher minimum wage than the state, according to L&I. Everett is set to become the seventh in July.

Bellingham’s rate is on the lower end of that list, although some cities use a tiered wage floor based on an employer’s size, meaning their minimum wage is lower than Bellingham’s for some businesses and higher for others. Seattle has the highest baseline minimum wage in the state at $20.76 an hour. However, Tukwila, Renton and Burien all have a higher minimum wage than Seattle for companies with more than 500 employees – around $21 an hour.

While those three cities have a higher minimum wage than Bellingham in most cases, they all default to the statewide rate for small businesses. Similarly, unincorporated King County sets its minimum wage at $17.29 for businesses with fewer than 15 employees and less than $2 million in annual revenue. When Everett’s rate goes into effect later this year, it will be lower than Bellingham’s for both small and mid-sized businesses.

At $16.28 an hour, Washington had the highest minimum wage of any state in 2024, excluding Washington, D.C. which has a pay floor of $17.50 an hour. While several other states are raising their minimum wage in the new year, none will surpass the Evergreen State’s new rate of $16.66. California is close behind with a minimum wage of $16.50 an hour for 2025.

Who qualifies for Bellingham minimum wage?

The citywide wage floor “applies to all hours worked by employees within the geographic boundaries of the city of Bellingham,” according to the city’s website.

Bellingham’s municipal code defers to the state’s definition of employee, which contains an exemption for “casual labor,” as well as elected officials, some piece-rate farm workers, newspaper carriers and childcare workers at a charity, among others.

Employees who earn tips still qualify for the minimum wage, as state law requires tips to be added onto an employee’s wages.

There’s also an exemption to Bellingham’s minimum wage for city employees, although that’s largely a technicality due to the fact that the city’s municipal code states a ballot initiative can’t set the salaries of city employees. As a workaround, the municipal code “encourages” the city to pay its employees minimum wage.

This story was originally published December 31, 2024 at 12:26 PM.