2020 Alaska Minimum Wage
The 2020 Alaska Minimum Wage is $10.19.
Effective 2020-01-01Source: Alaska's Minimum Wage Set at $10.19 for 2020 (News Release No. 19-21) (Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development)Verified 2026-08-31
Who it applies to
Employers and workers covered by the Alaska minimum wage law
What changed this year, and why
The Alaska minimum wage was set at $10.19 per hour effective January 1, 2020, an increase from the prior rate.
Common questions
- What was the minimum wage in Alaska in 2020?
- The minimum wage in Alaska was $10.19 per hour in 2020.
Who to ask about this rate, and where to take a wage complaint
The contact listed for questions about Alaska's $10.19 minimum wage is Joe Dunham, Statewide Supervising Investigator in the Wage and Hour Administration of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Workers in Alaska who believe they are being paid below the required rate, or who have other wage complaints, should consult the relevant state labor office — in this case the Wage and Hour section — which can be reached by phone at (907) 269-4900 or by email at joseph.dunham@alaska.gov. The Commissioner's Office can also be contacted at Commissioner.Labor@alaska.gov. Additional information on Alaska's wage laws is posted at https://labor.alaska.gov/lss/whhome.htm. For anyone in Alaska, this is the office that enforces the state's minimum wage, handles complaints about unpaid or underpaid wages, and interprets how the rate applies to specific jobs and industries.
Joe Dunham Statewide Supervising Investigator, Wage and Hour Administration (907) 269-4900 joseph.dunham@alaska.gov
Alaska's Minimum Wage Set at $10.19 for 2020 (News Release No. 19-21) (Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
How the rate is adjusted each year, and who announces it
Alaska's 2020 minimum wage of $10.19 is the result of an annual cost-of-living adjustment. Under Alaska Statute 23.10.065(a), the rate must be recalculated each year using the Consumer Price Index for urban consumers in the Anchorage metropolitan area (Anchorage CPI-U). In 2018, that index rose 3.0 percent, moving from 218.873 to 225.545. That increase translated into a 30-cent-per-hour raise over the prior rate of $9.89, bringing the wage to $10.19 effective January 1, 2020. The adjustment was required by a ballot initiative Alaska voters approved in 2014, which locked the annual inflation update into state law. For workers in Alaska, this means the hourly floor on what employers must pay is not fixed permanently; it climbs each year in line with Anchorage-area inflation, and the state announces the new figure before the start of each calendar year. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development publishes the updated rate, as it did in its September 30, 2019 press release.
JUNEAU, Alaska-The Alaska minimum wage will increase from $9.89 to $10.19 in 2020. Voters passed a ballot initiative in 2014, which requires the minimum wage to be adjusted annually for inflation. Alaska Statute 23.10.065(a) requires the Alaska minimum wage to be adjusted using the Consumer Price Index for urban consumers in the Anchorage metropolitan area (Anchorage CPI-U) for the preceding calendar year. The Anchorage CPI-U increased 3.0 percent in 2018, rising from 218.873 to 225.545. As a result, the minimum wage will rise 30 cents per hour to $10.19 effective January 1, 2020.
Alaska's Minimum Wage Set at $10.19 for 2020 (News Release No. 19-21) (Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Alaska's Minimum Wage Set at $10.19 for 2020 (News Release No. 19-21) (Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
- Hourly
As a result, the minimum wage will rise 30 cents per hour to $10.19 effective January 1, 2020.
Other years
Every Alaska Minimum Wage year · Minimum Wage in every state