More than a quarter-million workers in New Jersey will make more money starting Jan. 1.

The state minimum wage is going up 36 cents to $15.49 per hour. That will give New Jersey one of the highest minimum wages in the nation and a slight raise to the roughly 350,000 people who earn minimum wage.

What is New Jersey’s minimum wage?

States have to set their minimum wage at or above the federal minimum, which is currently $7.25 per hour.

A handful of states, including Pennsylvania, hold firm at the federal minimum wage, but many have made efforts in recent years to double that.

The hike to $15.49 for New Jersey is the first based on inflation and cost-of-living changes. The state first started raising the minimum wage in 2019 with a goal of getting to $15 an hour by 2024. The current rate went to $15.13 on Jan. 1. 2024.

That effort by Gov. Phil Murphy also baked in cost-of-living increases to the minimum wage each year after 2024.

At $17.50, Washington D.C. has the highest per-hour minimum wage and will hike it more at mid-year. Washington, Connecticut and California each plan to top $16 an hour in 2025.

Delaware also will have a $15 minimum wage in 2025.