Minimum-wage workers in Oregon saw their pay bump up starting July 1, but in Bend and Redmond, most workers already make more than the minimum wage.

Roughly 3% of the workforce in Deschutes County earn $13.50 an hour or less, which was the previous statewide minimum wage. Only Columbia, Josephine, Linn and Polk counties had bigger shares of low-wage earners, with about 5% of the workforce taking home $13.50 an hour, according to Oregon Employment Department data.

Lawmakers set three wage levels depending on where the workers live. Starting Saturday, the minimum wage will be $15.45 an hour within the Portland metro urban growth boundary, $14.20 in standard counties and $13.20 in nonurban counties, according to the Oregon Employment Department data. The wages put Oregon near the top of the nation for minimum wage in 2023.

The highest is in Washington, D.C., at $16.50 an hour, followed by Washington at $15.74 an hour and California at $15.50 an hour, according to the employment data.

Oregon’s wage increases were established by lawmakers in 2016. This year, minimum wages for all regions are adjusted for inflation.

Minimum wages in Deschutes County are higher than Crook and Jefferson counties, which are considered rural communities.

“Local employers have already been raising their wages because of recent labor shortages,” said Katy Brooks, Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO. “As with any increase in the cost of doing business, the price often gets passed on to consumers.”

Prices have risen at many establishments in Central Oregon, which makes it even harder to afford to live in Bend, Brooks said.

“The challenge of the affordability of living in Bend goes far beyond raising minimum wage,” Brooks said. “It’s affording food, housing and transportation that is out of alignment with wage increases.”

According to a new report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 86,990 people employed in Bend-Redmond area. Workers in the Bend-Redmond area earn on average $28 an hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Food preparation and server jobs account for about 10.7% of the jobs in the area, according to the data.

Leisure and hospitality industry jobs earned on average $30,539 a year in the Bend-Redmond area in 2022, the most current data, said Nicole Ramos, Oregon Employment Department regional economist.

For comparison, the average annual wage for all jobs in the region was $59,717 a year.