DES MOINES, Iowa — In 2024, five of the six states surrounding Iowa will be increasing their minimum wages.
On New Year's Day Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri and Illinois will raise their minimum wage.
Iowa's minimum wage of $7.25 has not changed since 2009.
However, economic experts said it's unlikely anyone in Iowa is going to feel the impact.
Drake University economics professor Dr. William Boal said the topic of minimum wage comes with a lot of passion.
"There's a lot of controversy about whether raising the minimum wage tends to reduce job openings and reduce employment,” Boal said. “I think that the thing you could say is that if it has a negative effect, it's a very small negative effect."
Boal doesn't expect neighboring states' minimum wage increases to cause an exodus of workers in Iowa.
"I don't think we're going to see people moving to these other states just to take advantage of a higher minimum wage," Boal said.
While Iowans won't be seeing a higher minimum wage, the overall outlook for wages is positive, according to Boal.
"I do think that the market wages will continue to rise for at least for the foreseeable future, just as they are in other states,” Boal said. “But that'll give some boost to minimum wage workers in Iowa, just with the market."
Common Good Iowa, a nonpartisan policy organization, argues that increasing the minimum wage in Iowa is important.
"And so, raising the minimum wage is certainly one way that we could begin to address issues of adequate household income in this state,” said Mike Owen, deputy director of Common Good Iowa.
Owen said on top of low minimum wage, Iowa suffers from issues like child labor and wage theft.
"All these things make Iowa a less attractive state to be in, it's a less attractive state to come to,” Owen said.
On a federal level, most recently, senate Democrats introduced the Raise the Wage Act Of 2023 in July.
If passed, that act would gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour by 2028.
The federal minimum wage of $7.25 has also not been changed since 2009.