Effective Jan 1. 2025, Seattle’s minimum wage increased to $20.76 an hour, up from $19.97. For employers with under 500 employees, and employers whose employees made back the difference either in medical benefits or tips, the previous minimum wage was $17.25. All businesses, regardless of tipping practices or benefits, will now pay the $20.76 hourly wage. This impacts business owners as well as minimum wage employees, including many Seattle University student employees. 

Kendall Kageyama, a third-year psychology major, works 10 hours a week as a student employee at the Seattle U Writing Center. Kageyama spoke on the financial burdens associated with working and living in Capitol Hill.  

“It’s really hard to live here. I live in an apartment where I have to buy my own groceries and stuff, so a lot of the money I do make goes to that,” Kageyama said. “It’s really nice that now I have more money I can go to places like Whole Foods instead of Trader Joe’s.” 

Kageyama shared that she feels more secure and has more room in her budget for social outings due to the increase. 

“I have some things I want to do in the year like going on trips and stuff and I think this will definitely help me do that,” Kageyama said. “If there’s anything I need, like any emergencies, I feel like this would help me navigate that as well.”

Seattle’s cost of living has risen dramatically in recent years, and for many minimum wage employees, this raise is not only welcome but needed. Kageyama agreed. 

“It’s very much needed,” Kageyama said. “I think a lot of people would agree with the fact that it’s nice to be making more, and also a lot of individuals do rely on their student jobs to be here.” 

Stacey Jones, a teaching professor in the economics department at Seattle U, discussed research done at the University of Washington on the impact of previous minimum wage increases in Seattle. This research, according to Jones, saw an overall increase in earnings partnered with a reduction in hours worked, but not a reduction in overall employment. 

Jones thinks that as an attempt to reduce overall inequality in the city, the minimum wage hasn’t been effective. 

“I think what I’m reading in the research suggests that it didn’t help that much with reducing inequality in Seattle,” Kageyama said. “I mean some people are making more money, no question, some people are better off, but in terms of reducing overall inequality it doesn’t seem to have made a huge difference.” 

Any increase in minimum wage also increases the cost of labor for employers. 

Anthony Anton, president and chief executive officer of the Washington Hospitality Association (WHA), a trade group that represents more than 6,000 members of the hotel, restaurant and hospitality industry in Washington. The WHA’s mission is to increase profit margins for their members within the association and furthermore to keep businesses open.  

“We’re really at a point where the industry’s gotta change,” Anton said, explaining that in his view, the current minimum wage leads to a cost of labor for employers that creates a profit margin that isn’t sustainable. “We need to find a way to reduce costs dramatically, and/or increase prices, and/or find some kind of balance, or increase revenue, to get that margin back to where someone can open a restaurant in Seattle and chase their dream.”

According to Anton, restaurants in Seattle already employ about three to four people less than the national average, so he thinks it’s unrealistic to see any further reduction in labor. He also doesn’t believe Seattle restaurants can raise prices much further without losing a significant number of their customer base. 

“Picture this box closing in on a small business person, like ‘I’ve cut my costs, I’ve reduced my number of employees, I can’t really raise my prices anymore, I have to change,’” Anton said. “We’ve got to work together to create a new business model.” 

While Anton isn’t sure what changes will or won’t work, he believes that if a successful change in the business model isn’t found within four to six months, there will be a 4-9% decrease in the number of restaurants in Seattle. 

Jones reiterated that an important part of the discussion around wages and quality of life for minimum wage workers is the decreased strength of labor unions in our country. 

“I think the minimum wage to some extent has been oversold as a replacement for labor unions, because we don’t have as strong a labor movement as we used to,” Jones said. “The minimum wage I don’t think can replace that as a focus of how to help in the balance of power between workers and employers.” 

The economic impacts of a minimum wage increase are complex, but many student employees are excited to see more money on their paychecks in 2025.