The federal minimum wage has lost purchasing power since it was last increased in 2009.

The federal minimum wage was last raised to $7.25 on July 24, 2009, and available evidence indicates that its real value declined afterward. However, the supplied evidence does not provide the required like-for-like CPI calculation through the latest completed period as of August 20, 2026, leaving the current comparison unverified.

At a glance

Key Evidence

Verified August 20, 2026

NPR reports that the federal minimum wage rose to $7.25 on July 24, 2009, the latest federal increase identified in the supplied evidence.
The St. Louis Fed reports that the wage's real value declined 27 percent between July 2009 and the time of its analysis because the nominal wage stayed unchanged while prices increased.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports a 34 percent decline in the wage floor's real value after 2009, but the supplied evidence does not include a like-for-like CPI calculation through the latest completed period as of August 20, 2026.

The reporting

What the Evidence Shows

The historical part is supported: the federal minimum wage last increased on July 24, 2009, when it reached $7.25. NPR and other records identify that increase as the most recent federal adjustment.

The purchasing-power comparison requires more than showing that the nominal wage stayed unchanged while prices rose. It requires comparing the price level in July 2009 with the latest authoritative price index available for the claim's August 20, 2026 reference date, using consistent CPI-U all-items units. The St. Louis Fed reports that the wage's real value had fallen 27 percent between July 2009 and the time of its analysis, while the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports a 34 percent decline after 2009. Those findings support a historical decline, but neither supplied excerpt provides the transparent, current endpoint calculation needed for the normalized claim. The evidence therefore establishes the 2009 increase and indicates subsequent erosion, without verifying the specific comparison through August 20, 2026.

Primary trail