FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The City of Flagstaff has issued a correction to information it released earlier Friday regarding the city’s 2027 minimum wage.
In its original news release sent to Flagscanner and other media outlets Friday morning, the City of Flagstaff reported that the minimum wage would increase to $19 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2027. Flagscanner published that figure based on the city’s official release.
Friday evening, the city issued a revised release acknowledging that city staff had identified an error in the calculation. The correct minimum wage will be $18.95 per hour, five cents less than originally announced.
According to the city, the discrepancy involved how the annual cost-of-living adjustment was calculated under Flagstaff’s Minimum Wage Act.
The ordinance requires annual minimum-wage increases to be rounded to the nearest five cents. City staff determined that the Consumer Price Index adjustment should be applied to the rounded minimum wage from the previous year.
In previous years, however, the city had calculated the increase using the unrounded minimum wage from the prior year. According to the revised release, this is the first year the two methods resulted in different wage amounts.
After reviewing the ordinance, city staff determined the rounded figure should be used, resulting in a 2027 minimum wage of $18.95 per hour rather than $19.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that the Consumer Price Index for August 2026 was 3.4% higher than August 2025. That cost-of-living adjustment is used to determine Flagstaff’s annual minimum wage increase.
Flagstaff voters approved the Minimum Wage Act, Proposition 414, in 2016.
The corrected $18.95-per-hour minimum wage takes effect Jan. 1, 2027 and applies to workers within the City of Flagstaff. Employees who regularly receive tips are also required under the city ordinance to receive the same minimum wage as non-tipped employees.
Editor’s Note: Flagscanner’s earlier report stating that the 2027 minimum wage would be $19 per hour accurately reflected the official information provided by the City of Flagstaff at the time. The city subsequently corrected its calculation and revised the figure to $18.95.
