2021 Virginia Minimum Wage

How the rate is adjusted each year, and who announces it

Virginia has scheduled increases to its minimum wage written into law. The rate is $9.50 per hour as of May 1, 2021. The law provides that the rate will then rise to $11.00 per hour on January 1, 2022, and increase further to $12.00 per hour as of January 1, 2023. These increases are set by statute on specific dates, not by annual inflation adjustments. Virginia's minimum wage is not currently adjusted each year based on the cost of living or the Consumer Price Index. Instead, the General Assembly has established a fixed schedule of increases through legislation. Workers and employers in Virginia can plan for these known increases on the specified dates. After the $12.00 per hour rate takes effect on January 1, 2023, any future adjustments would require new legislation unless the law is amended to provide for automatic inflation adjustments.

It will then rise to $11.00 per hour on January 1, 2022, before increasing to $12.00 per hour as of January 1, 2023.

Minimum Wage Update (Virginia Department of Labor and Industry)