New Hampshire
NH’s minimum wage is $7.25. After latest House vote, it’s unlikely to change this year
See David Bennett advocate for minimum wage increase to $20 by 2030
See Rep. David Bennett talk about his minimum wage bill to raise it to $20 by 2030.
New Hampshire’s minimum wage is about half the amount workers are paid in all other New England states, and that seems unlikely to change this year.
On Thursday, the New Hampshire House set aside the issue for now by voting to table a bill that would eventually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2028. It was a largely party line vote of 197 to 159, with all Democrats and two Republicans in opposition to tabling the bill.
New Hampshire’s current minimum wage is $7.25, which is the federal minimum. It has not increased since 2009.
Lawmakers can vote later to take the bill off the table and decide whether to pass it. But if the bill is not taken off the table by the end of this year’s session, it will die. The bill had come to the floor with a report of inexpedient to legislate, meaning it was unlikely to pass before the tabling motion was made.
Why doesn’t NH increase the minimum wage?
Rep. Kathy Staub, D-Manchester, who sponsored the bill, said that the low minimum wage is “out of step” with surrounding states. All other states in New England have raised their minimum wage to at least $14 as of 2025.
“The 61,000 workers who make less than $15 an hour in the state do important work and deserve fair compensation,” she said.
However, Rep. James Creighton, R-Antrim, who asked to table the bill, said that the bill will “harm New Hampshire businesses” and that “the market should drive wages.”
Another bill to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026 was already killed by the Senate in early March.
Democratic lawmakers in New Hampshire have tried to raise the minimum wage for the past 12 years, but they’ve continued to face steep opposition from Republicans.
These bills also face an uphill battle with new Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who opposed raising the federal minimum wage as a U.S. Senator and has stuck to that position, saying during her campaign for governor that the minimum wage should be up to the market and private businesses.
What’s the minimum wage in other New England states?
Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut and Maine increased their minimum wage in 2025, largely due to cost-of-living increases.
Here is the minimum wage in each New England state, from lowest to highest:
- New Hampshire: $7.25
- Vermont: $14.01
- Maine: $14.65
- Massachusetts: $15
- Rhode Island: $15
- Connecticut: $16.35
What state has the highest minimum wage?
While technically not a state, Washington D.C. has the highest minimum wage in the country at $17.50.
Washington state has the next highest at $16.28, and it increased in 2025 to $16.66 per hour.
The third highest is California, which increased its minimum wage to $16.50 in 2025. Fast food restaurant employers and healthcare facility employers have a higher minimum wage. The minimum wage for fast food workers starts at $20 and for healthcare workers it’s a scale that starts at $18 depending on the type of work.
New York and then Connecticut are the next two highest.
Contributing: Katie Landeck
New Hampshire
New Hampshire Gov. signs law requiring schools to out trans kids
New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte (Getty Images)
New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte has signed legislation requiring public school employees to disclose information about transgender students to their parents or legal guardians, reversing a 2024 state Supreme Court ruling that upheld students’ privacy rights in certain circumstances.
Ayotte’s office announced on 2 July that the legislation had been signed into law. Under SB 430, educators must respond to written requests from parents for “material information” about their child, even if a student has asked that the information be kept confidential or fears negative consequences at home.
Supporters of the legislation, such as Republican state Senator Tim Lang, argue the measure strengthens parental rights and enables families to better support children who may be struggling. “If you don’t tell the parent, the parent can’t watch for the signs of self-harm,” Lang told New Hampshire Public Radio.
Educators and LGBTQ+ advocates, however, say the law places teachers in an impossible position by forcing them to choose between complying with the law and protecting vulnerable students. Megan Tuttle, president of NEA-New Hampshire, the state’s largest teachers’ union, said in a statement that the legislation is “vaguely written and risks putting educators in a position of outing a student.” She added that schools should remain places where every student feels “safe, seen, and free to be themselves.”
Aimee Terravechia, executive director of LGBTQ+ advocacy group 603 Equality, warned the law could erode trust between students and educators while speaking with New Hampshire Public Radio. “Schools should be a place of learning… and a place of critical self-examination,” she said. “Placing educators into a role of monitoring and reporting removes the trust necessary for a thriving academic environment.”
The legislation also effectively overturns a 2024 New Hampshire Supreme Court decision, in which justices ruled that keeping a student’s gender identity confidential did not unlawfully interfere with parents’ rights, noting that parents still retained numerous ways to support and communicate with their children outside the classroom.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s boutique Centennial Hotel sold to Lord Hotels
New Hampshire
New hampshire set to approve world’s first $100 million bitcoin-backed municipal bond
New Hampshire is poised to approve the world’s first Bitcoin-backed municipal bond, valued at $100 million, according to social media reports. The bond is designed as a conduit bond with no taxpayer funds at risk, using over-collateralized Bitcoin held by BitGo Trust to secure the repayment. The bond’s innovative structure and potential implications for crypto-backed public debt have attracted attention, with Moody’s assigning it a provisional Ba2 rating. The bond, conceptualized by Wave Digital Assets in collaboration with Rosemawr Management, awaits final approval from the Governor and Executive Council. The market’s response to this development could influence Bitcoin’s future price expectations.
Key Takeaways
- The announcement suggests a significant step in integrating Bitcoin into traditional financial structures.
- Market participants appear to interpret this development as potentially increasing institutional confidence in Bitcoin.
- The bond’s approval could lead to a moderate increase in the odds of Bitcoin reaching higher price targets.
What to Watch
The final decision from the Governor and Executive Council in New Hampshire will be a key indicator of the bond’s impact. Observers may look for potential shifts in institutional adoption of Bitcoin as a collateral asset. Any further developments or official announcements regarding the bond’s pricing date could influence market expectations related to Bitcoin’s future valuation.
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