"Cost of Living Too High": New York City Pushes Groundbreaking Move to Raise Minimum Wage to $30

From $17 to $30 Per Hour
Core Campaign Pledge of New York Mayor Mamdani

New York City is pushing a groundbreaking bill to raise the minimum wage to $30 per hour (approximately 44,700 won).

According to AP and The Wall Street Journal on March 12 (local time), City Councilwoman Sandra Nurse officially submitted a bill to the city council the previous day to nearly double the current minimum hourly wage from $17 to $30.

A customer is checking prices at a store in Grand Central Terminal, New York City, USA.

This bill is a core campaign pledge of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a progressive who took office in January this year. He argues that wage increases are the only solution to save over 1 million low-wage workers from crushing inflation and poverty. However, not all businesses will be required to raise the minimum wage to $30 at once. The timing of the increase will depend on the size of the business and whether employee benefits are provided. Large businesses with 500 or more employees must raise wages to $20 per hour by 2027, and then reach the final target of $30 per hour by 2030.

For small and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 500 employees, which typically have less capital, there will be a grace period. Their minimum wage will gradually increase to $21.50 in 2028 and $30 in 2032. The bill also specifies that the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) will automatically adjust the minimum wage each year to reflect inflation. Delivery workers and independent contractors working on digital platforms such as Uber and DoorDash will be subject to the same protection standards.

An hourly wage of $30 is unprecedented not only in the United States but also among major global economies. The federal minimum wage in the U.S. has remained at $7.25 per hour (about 10,793 won) since 2009. As of 2026, Korea's minimum wage is 10,320 won (about $6.93), a similar level. New York City's target is a dramatically high amount, more than four times the current federal minimum wage.

The reason Mayor Mamdani and progressives are insisting on such a radical figure is New York's uniquely high cost of living, even compared to other parts of the United States. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), New York's current minimum wage of $17 is significantly lower than that of cities with a lower cost of living, such as Seattle, Washington ($21.30) or West Hollywood, California ($20.25).

This push has provoked immediate and strong backlash from business and small business organizations. There are about 2.4 million small businesses in New York City, responsible for more than half of all private sector jobs. These groups argue that artificially doubling wages will allow only large franchises or established companies with abundant resources to survive, thereby deepening monopolies and severely restricting consumer choice.

Economic experts have also raised concerns that a sharp increase in the minimum wage could trigger major side effects. The conservative Heritage Foundation, a policy research institute, analyzed on the 13th that if this bill passes, it will deliver a tremendous labor cost shock to businesses, resulting in the unintended consequence of pushing low-skilled workers out of the labor market. If companies unable to withstand the cost increases raise the prices of goods and services, the burden will ultimately fall even more heavily on low-income consumers.

Media outlets reported that small business associations and large corporate interest groups are likely preparing to file major collective injunction lawsuits. These organizations are expected to base their cases on grounds such as violations of constitutionally protected business rights, procedural illegality, or conflicts between state law and city ordinances.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.