By Independent Staff
As the cost of living in Santa Fe County rises, so are wages.
Starting March 1, the minimum wage in the unincorporated areas of Santa Fe County will increase to $15 per hour and the base wage for tipped workers will rise to $4.50 hourly.
Santa Fe County adopted its Living Wage Ordinance in 2014. Each year since, the living wage is “adjusted upward by an amount corresponding to the previous year’s increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for the Western Region for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers,” according to the ordinance.
According to the county, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the consumer price index rose 2.7%, prompting the change.
Last year, Santa Fe increased its living wage for non-tipped workers to $14.60, while tipped workers did not receive an increase.
The wage increase applies to businesses located throughout Santa Fe County, not including the incorporated boundaries of Santa Fe, Española and the Town of Edgewood, where the minimum wage remains $12/hour.