Seattle's minimum wage will increase to $22.14 per hour in 2027, continuing an inflation-adjustment policy implemented in 2025 that requires all employers to pay the same minimum. The measure has coincided with significant business closures and declining employment, as restaurant and retail establishments struggle with higher labour costs. Proponents argue the increase is necessary given Seattle's high cost of living, whilst critics point to mounting evidence that it is driving businesses away from the city.

During the first half of 2025, approximately 450 Seattle restaurants—16 per cent of the city's total—shut down, with owners frequently citing labour costs as a contributing factor. Job postings in Seattle's metropolitan area fell by 35 per cent between February 2020 and October 2025, the second-largest decline nationally after San Francisco. A peer-reviewed study found that the announcement of Seattle's minimum wage increase deterred new business formation within the city whilst simultaneously encouraging establishment in adjacent suburbs with lower wage floors. Full-time minimum wage workers in Seattle now earn just over $46,000 annually, the country's highest.