Nebraska’s minimum wage is set to increase to $15.26 an hour next year, 29 cents below what the wage would have been under the inflation-based formula approved by voters in 2022.
The Nebraska Examiner reports newly released inflation data show the Midwest Consumer Price Index increased 3.6% between August 2025 and August 2026. Under the ballot initiative approved by Nebraska voters four years ago, that figure would have been used to calculate the 2027 minimum wage. That would have produced a minimum wage of $15.55 an hour after the required rounding. But the Nebraska Legislature changed the formula earlier this year.
Lawmakers approved LB 258 on a 33-16 vote, replacing the inflation-based adjustment with a fixed annual increase of 1.75%. Gov. Jim Pillen approved the legislation in February.
Under the new law, Nebraska’s current $15 minimum wage increases to $15.26 on January 1. The Nebraska Examiner calculates that a person working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks would earn about $598 less annually at $15.26 than at $15.55, before taxes.
Supporters of the legislative change, including Lincoln State Sen. Jane Raybould, have argued that a fixed increase provides greater predictability for businesses. Opponents contend the change could cause minimum-wage workers’ earnings to fall behind inflation. The issue is more complicated in Lincoln.
The Lincoln City Council adopted an ordinance this year intended to preserve the inflation-based increases approved by voters and restrict use of the state’s new lower youth wage.
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers sued the city, arguing state minimum-wage law preempts Lincoln’s ordinance. In July, Lancaster County District Judge Lori Maret temporarily blocked the Lincoln ordinance from taking effect while the lawsuit proceeds. The judge’s preliminary injunction did not constitute a final ruling on the merits of the case.
If Lincoln ultimately prevails and its ordinance takes effect, the inflation formula would produce a $15.55 minimum wage in the city in 2027, according to the Nebraska Examiner.
The Legislature’s changes also created a $13.50 youth minimum wage for eligible 14- and 15-year-old workers. Current state law provides for that youth rate to begin increasing in 2030.
The Nebraska Department of Labor is required to calculate and publish the official statewide 2027 minimum wage no later than October 15.