Voters Disagree on Whether Minimum Wage Hike Reduces Jobs

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• A majority (57%) of voters say state and local governments should set the minimum wage to recognize differences in the cost of living in different parts of the country.
  • However, 33% disagree and say the federal government should set the minimum wage so that it is the same everywhere in the country.
  • In April 2024, by a 65% to 28% margin, voters said the state and local governments should decide.
  • The parties are closely aligned on this topic.
• A plurality (42%) of registered voters say that the number of jobs that private businesses provide is reduced when governments raise the minimum wage.
  • This is down 7 points from April 2024.
  • One third (34%) disagree and say the number of jobs is not reduced, up 5 points from April 2024.
  • One quarter (25%) are Not Sure.
  • By a 61% to 23% margin, Republicans say raising the minimum wage reduces the number of jobs.
  • Conversely, by a 44% to 26% margin, Democrats say raising the wage does not reduce the number of jobs.
  • Half (52%) of voters who talk politics daily or nearly every day say jobs are reduced when minimum wage is raised.
• Voters are split regarding what is more important: raise the minimum wage for some workers or increase the number of entry-level jobs.
  • Forty-four percent (44%) say it’s more important to raise the minimum wage.
  • Still, 43% say increasing the number of entry-level jobs is more important.
  • More Democrats (56%) than Republicans (33%) say it’s more important to raise the minimum wage.

This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, March 23-24, 2026. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.