Economy

Cherokee Nation Businesses push effort to hike Oklahoma minimum wage

April 16, 2026

Ray Carter

According to an Oklahoma Ethics Commission report filed for the third quarter of 2024 by “Yes on SQ 832 – Raise the Wage in Oklahoma,” Cherokee Nation Businesses, an arm of the Cherokee Nation, has contributed $25,000 to the campaign to tether an Oklahoma wage mandate to the cost of living in places like New York City and San Francisco.

State Question 832 would mandate annual increases in Oklahoma’s minimum wage based on increases in the cost of living in the nation’s largest urban centers, as measured by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.

Because Oklahoma is one of the nation’s lowest-cost states, the measure would effectively mandate wage levels far above market rates in Oklahoma, based on the cost of living in places like Chicago or Los Angeles.

As a result, while SQ 832 would initially mandate that entry-level jobs pay $15 an hour by 2029, the wage mandate would rapidly escalate in subsequent years.

During an October legislative study, Peter Hansen, director of research and policy analysis at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), warned that the impact of an artificially high wage law would reduce Oklahoma’s GDP by roughly $700 million by 2035 compared to what would happen if no change were made to the state’s minimum-wage law.

He also warned that net job losses were likely in Oklahoma by 2031 and 16,000 jobs could be lost by 2035 if the state’s minimum-wage law is increased dramatically.

By tying Oklahoma’s minimum wage to the living expenses of the nation’s highest-cost urban centers, SQ 832 is expected to not only reduce the number of entry-level jobs in Oklahoma but also boost the cost of living in Oklahoma to more closely match living expenses in the nation’s highest-cost locales—because the business cost of the wage hike will be passed on to consumers through higher prices.

Data tracking price changes from 2008 to 2024 show that states raising their minimum wages to $15 per hour have, on average, become more expensive at a faster rate than Oklahoma.

The Cherokee Nation recently announced it is now paying all entry-level employees $15 an hour. However, the Cherokee Nation receives tax advantages that, in effect, represent an indirect but massive taxpayer subsidy for the tribe. Small businesses in Oklahoma have no comparable subsidies to offset the costs of an ultra-high wage law.

For example, the Cherokee Nation receives 50 percent of tobacco-tax revenue for products sold in its businesses.

Oklahoma’s top personal income tax rate of 4.5 percent is imposed on income surpassing $7,200 for single filers and $14,400 for joint filers. The Oklahomans paying that rate include many small business owners.

While Oklahomans pay a 4.5 percent rate for less than $20,000 in annual earnings, the Cherokee Nation pays a lower de facto tax on millions of dollars in casino revenue.

Under the Cherokee’s compact with the state of Oklahoma, the tribe pays only 4 percent on the first $10 million in revenue from its slot machines. The tribe pays only 5 percent on the next $10 million in slot-machine revenue, and then 6 percent on any revenue above $20 million. Casinos in most other states pay a substantially higher rate.

The Cherokee Nation was also involved in a legal effort to have many of its members exempted from paying any Oklahoma state income tax.