Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and it hasn’t changed since 2009. Every neighboring state pays more — New York $15.50, New Jersey $15.49, Delaware and Maryland $15, Ohio $10.70, and West Virginia $8.75. (PA Department of Labor and Industry)
- Mark Pinsley, the Democratic nominee, would raise the statewide minimum to at least $22 an hour, phased in, then rise automatically with the cost of living each year.
- Jarrett Coleman, the Republican incumbent, introduced the Freedom in Wages Act (Senate Bill 1395), which would let counties set their own minimum wage. It doesn’t raise the statewide minimum at all.
One proposal raises wages. The other just moves the decision.
In his video on the minimum wage, Pinsley points out that every neighboring state pays more: “I guess if we walk across the border, we’re worth more.” His bottom line: “Businesses need time to plan, but workers deserve something more basic: One full-time job should be enough to live with dignity.”
Side by side
| Mark Pinsley | Jarrett Coleman (SB 1395) | |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide minimum | At least $22 an hour | Stays $7.25 |
| Who gets a raise on day one | Every minimum-wage worker, once phased in | Nobody, unless a county acts |
| Keeps up with the cost of living | Yes, every year | No |
| Who decides | The legislature, once | Each county, one by one |
| Status | Candidate’s proposal | Introduced June 2026; no hearing, no vote |
Where $22 comes from
It’s based on rent. Housing is considered affordable when it takes no more than 30% of your income. At $22 an hour, a full-time worker makes about $45,760 a year — and 30% of that is about $1,125 a month. In Lehigh and Bucks counties, average rents and mortgages are already higher than that.
So $22 isn’t a comfortable wage here. It’s about the point where one full-time job covers an average apartment.
Tying it to the cost of living matters just as much. Pennsylvania’s $7.25 has lost about a third of its value since 2009 — without anyone voting to cut it. Inflation did it.
What Coleman’s bill actually does
SB 1395 is one page long. It changes one rule that currently stops local governments from setting their own minimum wage, so that counties could. There’s no wage amount, no schedule, and no requirement that any county act. (SB 1395 text)
Three things follow:
1. It’s counties, not towns. Coleman’s memo talks about giving “municipalities” flexibility, but the bill says “a county.” Allentown or Quakertown couldn’t set a minimum wage; only Lehigh or Bucks County could. (Co-sponsorship memo) 2. Nothing happens unless a county acts. In any county that doesn’t, the minimum stays $7.25. 3. It hasn’t moved. It was sent to the Senate Labor and Industry Committee in June 2026 and has had no hearing or vote. (SB 1395)
The county option already exists — in the bill that raises the wage
On March 24, 2026, the Pennsylvania House passed House Bill 2189, 104–95. It raises the minimum to $11 in 2027, $13 in 2028 and $15 in 2029, then ties it to inflation. It also lets counties set a higher minimum. (HB 2189 · House Roll Call 880)
So local control isn’t an alternative to a raise. It’s already part of the bill that gives one.
HB 2189 has been stuck in the same Senate committee since March. Coleman introduced his bill in June — after an attempt to force HB 2189 out of committee.
Why “leave it to the counties” isn’t enough
As Lehigh County Controller, Pinsley has seen what county boards do with decisions like this. In 2020 he asked the county commissioners to add three requirements to a county contract. In 2022 they approved it — worth close to $1 million — without any of them, 5–3.
That’s not a knock on county government. It’s what “leave it to local officials” means in practice: the raise happens in counties that vote for it, and nowhere else. A worker in a county that never acts doesn’t get a smaller raise. They get no raise at all.
More ways to raise take-home pay
A higher minimum wage helps the lowest-paid workers. Pinsley has two more proposals that reach further up the pay scale. (The Morning Call, October 5, 2026)
- End the state tax on overtime. Pennsylvania taxes overtime like any other wages. Pinsley would stop taxing it, so extra hours mean more money in workers’ pockets.
- End noncompete agreements. A noncompete can stop a worker from taking a better-paying job in the same field. Pennsylvania already limits them for many health care workers. Pinsley would end them for everyone.
Common questions
“Won’t employers hire teenagers instead?” Pinsley is open to a lower training or summer wage for students. Pennsylvania already allows a 60-day training wage for workers under 20.
“Why pay that much?” Pinsley asks the opposite: why pay less? When a full-time job doesn’t cover housing, taxpayers fill the gap through public assistance — subsidizing employers who don’t pay enough to live on.
“Won’t prices go up?” A little. Research finds a 10% minimum wage increase raises grocery prices by about a third of one percent. A worker gains thousands a year; shoppers pay cents more.
“Won’t businesses leave?” Moving is expensive — buildings, equipment, customers and trained staff. That’s why the threat is made far more often than it’s carried out.
The short version: Pinsley’s plan raises pay for every minimum-wage worker in Pennsylvania and keeps it rising. Coleman’s bill changes who’s allowed to raise it, raises it for no one, and hasn’t had a hearing.
District 16 covers parts of Lehigh and Bucks counties. The general election is November 3, 2026.
