Arizona's minimum wage of $14.70 an hour ranks among the highest, and it will rise again next year. But this rate of pay often doesn't stretch far enough for workers near the bottom.

The good news, for Arizonans earning the minimum, is that the $14.70 an hour mandated here is clearly on the high side. Arizona currently ranks 15th highest among the states, 18 of which don't require that employers pay more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, which hasn't budged since 2009.

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