For 4.5 million US workers, the start of the new year meant an increase in wages. Calls for increasing the minimum wage in eighteen of America’s fifty states were finally answered last year, with the starting date being January 1, 2018. Ten of those states saw great increases that were the result of successful ballot measures while the other eight states will see more modest increases that kick in automatically to keep up with inflation. Among all the states that will see an increase in wages, Arizona fared especially well, with more than 16 percent of workers expected to directly benefit from the changes.