Everett’s local minimum wage ordinance quietly bumped up another tier of employers on July 1, and it’s easy to miss if you’re not watching the city’s employer-size brackets closely.
Table of Contents
What happened
As of July 1, 2026, “Covered Employers” in Everett — businesses with 15 to 499 employees, or those with annual gross revenue over $2 million — must pay a minimum wage of $19.77 per hour, up from $18.77. That’s a $1.00-per-hour jump for a large swath of the city’s small and mid-sized business community, per the City of Everett’s official minimum wage guidance.
Everett’s ordinance actually has three tiers: large employers (500+ employees) moved to $20.77/hour back on January 1, 2026; covered employers (15-499 employees or $2M+ revenue) just moved to $19.77 on July 1; and businesses with fewer than 15 employees aren’t subject to the local ordinance at all — they just follow Washington’s statewide minimum wage instead, according to MyNorthwest.
Why it matters
Local minimum wage ordinances like Everett’s move on their own schedule, separate from Washington’s statewide minimum wage and separate from neighboring cities like Seattle or Tukwila, which each have their own thresholds and effective dates. It’s easy for a business with employees split across jurisdictions, or one that’s grown past 15 employees since the last time payroll was reviewed, to fall out of compliance without anyone noticing until an audit or complaint.
What this means for small business owners
- Confirm which tier you’re actually in. Employee count and revenue both matter — a business with 12 employees but $2.5 million in revenue is a “Covered Employer,” not exempt. Don’t assume based on headcount alone.
- Check your payroll system’s effective date. If your payroll provider didn’t automatically update Everett-specific rates on July 1, any hours worked since then at the old $18.77 rate are a wage violation waiting to surface.
- Don’t forget tipped and part-time employees — Everett’s ordinance, like most local wage laws, generally doesn’t carve out a lower tipped minimum the way federal law does. Confirm your specific obligations rather than assuming.
- If you cross state lines or serve clients in multiple WA cities, this is a good moment to build a simple internal reference sheet of every local minimum wage that applies to your business, with effective dates, so future increases don’t sneak up on you.
The bottom line
A $1/hour increase across your Everett-based hourly staff adds up fast once you multiply it by every employee and every pay period since July 1. If you haven’t already confirmed your payroll system reflects the new $19.77 rate, that’s a five-minute check today that saves a much bigger headache later.
