Maine Minimum Wage Earners Will See A Big Raise On January 1st

Yup, it's true.

On January 1st, Maine's minimum wage will take another step up. Mainers who make money at the minimum wage level, will get another annual boost from the state. The new hourly wage o the way in Maine is $14.15 per hour. It's not a bad little bump... $.35 an hour isn't bad. The current rate is$13.80 per hour.

Folks who work 40 hours a week at the new rate will make $566 a week before taxes. Likely, most folks would probably see about $400 a week take home. Of course, that can vary for folks who have dependents or for some reason have their wages garnished. But even then, those folks might still see a bit extra in their pockets.

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Let's be real though, living on minimum wage is hard.

No joke... I won't candy coat this. Folks who have this kind of income definitely still have a hard time making ends meet. Two incomes at that level would still only be just under $60K a year. That sounds like a lot more money than it is, for sure. With the cost of living these days, trying to support a family on that is beyond difficult.

If there's any silver lining, it's that there's such a labor shortage right now. Most folks are being paid well over the state's minimum wage. However, all this has also made people freak out less about the rising wage. When most folks are starting jobs in the neighborhood of $15.00+ an hour, nobody seems to be complaining much.

For folks making mostly tips, your new wage will be $7.08 per hour. And they didn't forget about you folks on salary either. If you're on salary, the new state minimum for that is now about $42,450. We're definitely moving in the right direction. It's nice to see Mainers getting closer to what we all deserve..... A living wage.

We all know Maine is probably not on this list...