This policy alert was authored by Rebecca Feeney, practicum student at the Clark-Fox Policy Institute.
Beginning January 1, 2024, the Missouri minimum wage increased to $12.30/hour for most workers. The increase follows a 2018 referendum that raised the minimum wage to $12/hour over five years and will continue to adjust the minimum wage every following year based on changes in the cost of living. The 2018 voter referendum passed in spite of state legislators attempting to keep it off the ballot and outlawing individual city’s attempts to raise their own minimum wage.
While the increase is needed to keep up with inflation, it still leaves many families struggling to pay for necessities. Currently, a Missouri family with two working adults and two children need both adults to make $22.89/hour to support their family. In some counties, the minimum wage needed to make ends meet is even higher. In other words, in 2024, two working adults both making minimum wage would make $51,168 combined. Even in one of the least expensive counties in Missouri, St. Francois, the average cost of living for a family of two working adults and two children is $65,226 per year.
Increasing the minimum wage would benefit hundreds of thousands of Missouri children who live in poverty. Nearly one in four Missouri children have at least one caregiver who receives a minimum wage. If these caregivers were paid a living wage, these children would have better access to nutritious food, safe housing, and other essentials.
The benefits of a living wage extend beyond just physical well-being. When workers earn a living wage, they can spend more time with their families, increasing a child’s ability to develop meaningful and healthy relationships that continue into adulthood. Children with parents who earn a living are also more likely to graduate from high school.
For many families with young children, raising the minimum wage is just one piece of the puzzle. When caregivers’ wages increase, many become ineligible for childcare subsidies. Without the subsidies, caregivers are forced to decide whether their jobs are worth the necessary childcare costs, harming both their families and the economy. For Missouri families to thrive, they need both a living wage and access to affordable childcare.
Learn more: Read the new policy brief from Clark-Fox Policy Institute: Good Businesses Attract Good Employees: Promoting Employee and Family Wellbeing.
Rebecca (Becca) Feeney is a second-year social work student at the Brown School completing her practicum at the Clark-Fox Policy Institute.
Reference:
Feeney, R. (2024). Missouri Just Raised the Minimum Wage. But Is It Enough to Help Working Families? St. Louis, MO: Clark-Fox Policy Institute, Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.