From City Votes to State Vetoes: How Preemption Shaped Kansas City’s Minimum Wage

Kansas City spans two states, and that means two different approaches to wage policy. Over the past decade, local officials in Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, have explored ways to raise wages for workers. At the same time, state legislatures have acted to define the limits of local authority.

Minimum wage laws in the Kansas City metro area offer a glimpse into how state preemption, which allows states to override local decisions, can have real consequences for workers, families, and communities. The Kansas and Missouri state legislatures have blocked local governments from raising the minimum wage, despite local support. This has created a stark divide: workers on the Missouri side earn substantially more than those on the Kansas side of the state line. These disparities affect economic security, health, and opportunity for thousands of people. This example is part of a broader national trend, where states increasingly use preemption to set the rules on issues such as wages, housing, and public health, often with lasting impact on local democracy.

State Preemption

State preemption occurs when a state law limits or overrides the authority of local governments to enact certain policies. States often use preemption to promote consistency across jurisdictions. Uniform standards can simplify compliance for businesses operating in multiple cities and help ensure that state-level priorities are consistently applied statewide. For example, a state may decide that wage laws, public health measures, zoning, or environmental regulations should be uniform everywhere, rather than varying by locality.

Supporters argue that it creates predictability and fairness, while critics contend that it limits local flexibility to address unique community needs. According to the National League of Cities (NLC), “floor” preemption is when the state sets a minimum standard that lower governments cannot go below. “Ceiling” preemption is when the state sets a maximum that lower governments cannot exceed. This power can be defined either in statute, the constitution, or by the courts.

State legislatures have increased their use of preemption powers. A 2018 survey identified 162 state actions that restricted local government autonomy from 2001 to 2016. Aside from a spike in 2005, the number of actions each year generally increased from fewer than 5 to more than 15. A new NLC report found that a majority of states enacted new preemption laws between 2019 and 2025. Once enacted, repeals are rare.

Local Minimum Wage and State Preemption

Kansas

Kansas expressly prohibited local minimum wage ordinances in 2013 (12-16,130). Since then, multiple proposals to further increase the minimum wage have been introduced by state legislators, but none have advanced out of committee. These were generally Democratic-sponsored bills aiming for incremental increases, but they stalled in Republican-controlled committees. Bills proposed during the 2025 session (HB 2151 and SB 218) will carry over to the 2026 session.

Missouri

Over the last 10 years, Missouri has taken several steps to raise the minimum wage and restrict local minimum wage increases. In July 2015, the Kansas City (MO) City Council voted to raise the local minimum wage, with an effective date set for October. This action followed the increase of the statewide minimum wage to $7.65 per hour, effective January 1. However, just weeks after Kansas City’s vote, the state legislature passed a law that prohibited local governments from setting higher minimum wages after August 28, 2015. Because the state’s preemption law took effect before Kansas City’s ordinance could be implemented, the local measure was nullified. The St. Louis Board of Aldermen also voted in 2015 to phase in minimum wage increases, effective before the state-imposed deadline. The St. Louis ordinance survived legal challenges and was upheld by a state Supreme Court decision in February 2017. The state responded by nullifying all local minimum wage ordinances in July 2017.

Since then, Missouri voters have approved minimum wage increases twice. In 2018, Proposition B: phased increases from $7.85 in 2019 to $12 by 2023, thereafter indexed to inflation. Then in 2024, Proposition A increased the minimum wage to $13.75 in 2025 and $15 in 2026, and indexed annually thereafter; it also mandated paid sick leave.

The Missouri Supreme Court upheld the 2024 measure in April 2025, following a challenge from business groups. The suit alleged that the state provided misleading information to voters. It also raised state constitutional concerns, alleging that it violated the single-subject rule by addressing two topics, the minimum wage and paid sick leave, in a single vote. Despite the court’s decision, the state repealed indexing and paid sick leave provisions. HB 567 also extended the minimum wage to non-exempt public employees. The next step may be a citizen-initiated ballot measure to amend the state constitution to restore paid sick leave and indexing, in addition to increasing the minimum wage to $15 on January 1, 2027. The Secretary of State has authorized the collection of signatures required to put the question on the 2026 ballot.

These sets of actions have created a regional disparity in the Kansas City metro area. In Missouri, employees working for minimum wage ($13.75/hour, rising to $15.00/hour on January 1, 2026) are guaranteed to earn at least $6.50 more per hour than their KS counterparts ($7.25/hour).

CONCLUSION

Kansas City’s experience shows that minimum wage debates are not just about numbers on a paycheck; they are about who has the power to decide what communities need. Preemption can abruptly change the outcomes of democratic processes and produce lasting, uneven effects for workers living just miles apart. Understanding this history helps explain why regional wage gaps persist, even when local support for higher wages is strong.

More broadly, the Kansas City story underscores why preemption matters: decisions made at the state level can shape economic security, health, and opportunity for entire regions. Recognizing these dynamics is essential for anyone seeking to understand, evaluate, or engage in policy debates about wages, local authority, and democratic accountability.