Minimum Wage Increases in Bellingham, Washington

On May 1, 2025, the minimum wage in Bellingham, Wash., will increase to $18.66 per hour.  

Background of Bellingham’s Minimum Wage

Bellingham’s minimum wage rate originated from a ballot measure back during the Nov. 2023 election. At that time, voters in Bellingham passed Initiative 2023-01, which increased the city minimum wage to $1.00 above the applicable Washington State minimum wage starting May 1, 2024. Then on May 1, 2025, Bellingham’s minimum wage increases to $2.00 above Washington’s wage rate. Every Jan. 1 thereafter, the city minimum wage adjusts to remain $2.00 above the state minimum wage rate.  

Navigating the Minimum Wage Schedule in Bellingham

Given the unique dates and increases, below is Bellingham’s minimum wage schedule:  

Bellingham’s city minimum wage applies to all hours worked by employees within the geographic boundaries of the city of Bellingham. Employers are further prohibited from taking a tipped credit against the minimum wage. If employers fail to appropriately pay their employees at least the minimum wage, the city will issue penalties between $500 to $1,000 per each underpaid employee per pay period.  

Finally, the city ordinance does not currently have a labor law posting requirement for employers to display the minimum wage in the workplace. However, GovDocs continues to track for changes to the ordinance and to monitor for new rules that may impact the posting requirement in the jurisdiction.   

Conclusion

As a reminder, while Bellingham’s minimum wage is increasing on May 1 this year, the city will conform with the rest of the local minimum wage jurisdictions in Washington state and update its wage rate on Jan. 1 moving forward.  

To keep up with the continuously evolving minimum wage environment in Washington, employers need a robust platform that tracks location-specific minimum wage updates such as GovDocs Minimum Wage.