HOUSTON – Harris County employees and contracted employees could soon see a nice bump in their paychecks.
Harris County Commissioners Rodney Ellis and Lesley Briones are proposing an increase of the minimum wage for all county employees and contracted employees, according to a media advisory released on Wednesday.
“Harris County Commissioners Rodney Ellis and Lesley Briones and County Attorney Christian Menefee, with support from labor leaders and workers, will announce a proposed policy to create better jobs in our region by establishing a living wage for the people working for Harris County,” the advisory said. “If agenda item 462 is approved by Commissioners Court on Thursday, it will raise the minimum wage to $21.65 an hour for workers on county-contracted jobs and $20 an hour for county employees. The proposal also calls for the minimum wage to be increased annually based on the living wage scale supported by research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”
The minimum wage for county employees is currently $15 per hour following an increase in 2019.
If approved, this new increase would potentially raise an employee’s yearly earnings by $12,792 if they’re making the current minimum wage.
| Hourly Pay | Gross Yearly Income |
|---|---|
| $15 | $31,200 |
| $16 | $33,280 |
| $17 | $35,360 |
| $18 | $37,440 |
| $19 | $39,520 |
| $20 | $41,600 |
| $21 | $43,680 |
| $22 | $45,760 |
It would also put county employees’ compensation higher than City of Houston employees.
“There’s no better investment for Harris County than paying hard-working people – whether county employees or anyone doing work for the county – what they deserve. Unlike corporate windfalls for billionaires, better pay for the lowest-wage workers puts dollars right back into our local economy, supporting families and businesses while growing our tax base,” said Commissioner Rodney Ellis. “There’s an estimated $5.4 million to cover a minimum wage increase for almost 1,400 county employees, using a combination of the general fund, grants and special revenues, with the first increase coming in May and getting to a minimum wage of $20 by October 1.”
According to a city spokesperson, the City of Houston minimum wage is $16.75, in accordance with a labor agreement.
That rate will increase in July to $17.25 and then again in July 2026 to $18.
While it sounds like a great idea if you’re on the receiving end of the pay increase, there are questions about how the pay raise will be funded and how much taxpayers will see their taxes increase.
“Tomorrow’s proposal includes raising the minimum wage for county employees and contractors,” said Commissioner Tom Ramsey. “There’s no comprehensive plan in place for pay raises, and we’ve already provided over $22M worth of raises in the first quarter of this year. This is chaotic, and we need to put a halt on it until we figure out the impacts to the budget.”
Commissioners Ellis and Briones say the increase comes with data supported by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The goal is to increase the wages annually based on livability data from MIT.
“Studies show that when lower-paid workers, like the ones affected here, get a dollar in their wallets, they put $1.21 back into the economy,” Commissioner Ellis said. “And a higher-wage workforce improves performance, increases retention, and is more productive for the people of Harris County. Everyone wins.”
KPRC 2 asked the Harris County Human Resources office for statistics on how many employees this wage increase could impact. We’re still waiting to receive that data.
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