Minimum wage by state: the rate that applies where you work

The general rate in every state on file

The table gives the general hourly minimum for adult, non-tipped workers on October 11, 2026, the cash wage a tipped employee can be paid before tips, and the next rate where a state has published one. A state below the federal figure is shown at $7.25, because that is what a worker covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act receives. Each state name leads to a page with the dates, regional rates and exceptions, and every figure carries the agency page it was read on.

Where the federal $7.25 is still the rule

Congress last raised the federal minimum on July 24, 2009. In Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming, nothing higher has replaced it, either because the state has no minimum wage law of its own or because its law simply follows the federal figure. Where a state figure is written below the federal one, covered employers must still pay the federal rate. Federal coverage is wide: it reaches employees of businesses engaged in interstate commerce and of hospitals, schools and public agencies, which in practice covers most private jobs.

The federal law also allows a youth wage of $4.25 an hour for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days with an employer. A state law can be stricter and refuse any youth rate; where it is, the state rule wins, so the state page is the place to check before accepting a lower starting wage.

One state, more than one rate

A single statewide figure is the usual pattern, not the only one. Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Oregon publish several rates in force at once, split by region, by employer size or by industry. New York is the clearest case: $17.00 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $16.00 elsewhere in the state, so the same job pays $2,080 more a year in Yonkers than in Syracuse. Some states keep a lower rate for small businesses or seasonal employers, which federal coverage often overrides. Then there are local ordinances: cities and counties in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico and Washington set their own minimum, owed for work done inside their limits. The city minimum wage guide lists them.

What the rate pays over a week and a year

An hourly minimum turns into very different incomes. At $7.25, a 40-hour week pays $290.00 and a year $15,080. At $18.40 in the District of Columbia, the same schedule pays $736.00 a week and $38,272 a year, a gap of $23,192. Part-time work scales down in proportion: 25 hours a week at the federal rate is $9,425 a year. The comparison below puts two states side by side for a full-time job and shows which of them adds paid sick leave or a paid family leave program.

Salaried and commission-paid employees are covered too, unless an exemption applies: pay for the week divided by the hours worked must reach the minimum. A salaried assistant paid $600 for a 60-hour week in a $15.00 state earns $10.00 an hour, which is short. Exempt and non-exempt jobs explains when the salary test removes that protection.

Compare two states for a full-time minimum wage job

First stateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming

Second stateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming

Texas / California, per hour

$7.25 / $16.90

Full-time year (2,080 h)	$15,080 / $35,152
Gap over a year	$20,072
Paid sick leave law	no / yes
Paid family leave program	no / yes

Minimum wage in every state →

Raises during the year and in 2027

January 1 is the common date, but Alaska, District of Columbia, Florida, Nebraska and Oregon changed their rates later in 2026, and 14 jurisdictions have already announced a higher figure for 2027. Indexed states publish the next rate in the autumn, so the column above fills in as the agencies post their notices. The 2026 and 2027 increases guide lists each change with its date.

Who decides a minimum wage claim

An unpaid difference is a wage claim. The state labor agency named on each state page takes claims under the state rate, usually at no cost, and the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor takes claims under the federal rate. Keep pay stubs and a record of your hours. The agency decides the claim on its facts, and an employment lawyer can look at a situation where the employer disputes your hours or your status.