The report examines the potential public cost of a $15 minimum wage in Delaware. The state is considering legislation, SB15, which would phase in a $15 minimum wage by 2025. The report estimates that just over half of the families in Delaware who would be directly affected by an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 are enrolled in at least one safety net program, at an annual cost of $700 million. The report also notes that passage of SB15 would reduce the burden placed on federal and Delaware-funded public safety net programs, which working families turn to when their employers do not pay them enough to meet their basic needs.
