--- description: The sharp increase would be the first time a major U.S. city has committed to such a high base level of pay title: Seattle Approves $15 Minimum Wage image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4b2db4350b9a8db/698695fe13c79f3ecd1927d5/98750488.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Minimum Wage](/tag/minimum-wage/) ## Minimum Wage Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Seattle Approves $15 Minimum Wage by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 3, 2014 4:36 PM CUT  Buildings stand in the skyline of downtown Seattle, Washington, U.S., on Friday, March 17, 2010\. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images Buildings stand in the skyline of downtown Seattle, Washington, U.S., on Friday, March 17, 2010\. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 3, 2014 4:36 PM CUT Seattle is set to have the highest minimum wage in the country, after it passed Monday legislation that would gradually increase the figure to $15 an hour, the Associated Press [reports](http://time.com/2815795/seattle-council-passes-15-minimum-wage/ "undefined"). Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said last month [the plan](http://time.com/85191/seattle-minimum-wage-15-hour/ "undefined") to increase minimum wage demonstrates how Seattle “can lead the conversation and the nation to address this growing problem of income inequality.” The city’s landmark legislation is part of a nationwide push to combat income inequality at a time when President Barack Obama’s efforts to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour have floundered on Capitol Hill. Seattle’s new measure begins taking effect on April 1, 2015. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2818349/seattle-minimum-wage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2818349/seattle-minimum-wage/"},"headline":"Seattle Approves $15 Minimum Wage","datePublished":"2014-06-03T16:36:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:11:26.672Z","description":"The sharp increase would be the first time a major U.S. city has committed to such a high base level of pay","url":"https://time.com/2818349/seattle-minimum-wage/","keywords":["Minimum Wage","Seattle"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4b2db4350b9a8db/698695fe13c79f3ecd1927d5/98750488.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4b2db4350b9a8db/698695fe13c79f3ecd1927d5/98750488.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Buildings stand in the skyline of downtown Seattle, Washingt","caption":"Buildings stand in the skyline of downtown Seattle, Washingt","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/minimum-wage/","name":"Minimum Wage"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2818349/seattle-minimum-wage/","name":"Seattle Approves $15 Minimum Wage"}}]}] ```