Minimum Wage by State in the United States (2026): Rates, Tipped Wages and Overtime

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour. It has not changed since July 24, 2009, and no increase is currently scheduled.

Employers covered by the FLSA must pay whichever rate is higher. Where the state rate is higher, the state rate applies; where the state has no minimum wage law or sets one below $7.25 (Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wyoming), the federal $7.25 applies.

Enterprise coverage generally applies to businesses with at least $500,000 in annual gross volume of sales or business done, and to hospitals, schools and public agencies regardless of size. Individual coverage applies to employees engaged in interstate commerce or the production of goods for it. Employees not covered by the FLSA may still be covered by their state law.

The highest are the District of Columbia ($18.40), Washington ($17.13), New York ($17.00 in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester; $16.00 elsewhere), Connecticut ($16.94) and California ($16.90). Twenty states are at the federal $7.25, and West Virginia ($8.75) is the lowest state above it.

Employers may pay a cash wage of $2.13 per hour and claim a tip credit of up to $5.12, provided tips bring the employee to at least $7.25 an hour. If tips fall short, the employer must make up the difference. Several states (for example California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Minnesota, Alaska and Montana) do not allow a tip credit, so the full state minimum must be paid in cash.

Federal law allows a youth opportunity wage of $4.25 per hour for employees under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days with an employer. Some states do not allow it or set their own rules, and employers cannot use it to displace existing workers.

No. The FLSA protects employees, not genuine independent contractors. Misclassifying an employee as a contractor to avoid minimum wage and overtime is a common source of liability; see our guide on independent contractors in the United States.

Non-exempt employees must be paid at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Federal law does not require daily overtime.

Yes. California requires overtime for work over 8 hours in a day (and double time over 12 hours), and Alaska, Colorado and Nevada also apply daily thresholds in some situations. When state and federal rules differ, the rule more favorable to the employee applies.

For executive, administrative and professional exemptions the federal minimum salary level is $684 per week ($35,568 per year). A 2024 increase was vacated by a federal court in November 2024, so the earlier level applies; check for updates before relying on it. States such as California, New York, Washington and Colorado set higher thresholds.

No. Besides meeting the salary level, the employee’s actual job duties must meet the requirements of a specific exemption. Job titles do not decide exempt status.

In many states, yes. Cities such as Seattle, San Francisco and Chicago, and jurisdictions in Oregon, New York and elsewhere, set rates above the state minimum. Some states preempt local minimums. Employers must pay the highest applicable rate, so always check both the state and the local ordinance.

Many states index their minimum wage to inflation, usually with adjustments on January 1 and in some places on July 1 or another date. That is why the same state can have two rates in one year; confirm the effective date before running payroll.

According to the DOL table, Florida rises from $14.00 to $15.00 on September 30, 2026, and Michigan rises from $13.73 to $15.00 on January 1, 2027. Alaska ($14.00) and Oregon adjusted on July 1, 2026.

Yes. The FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime protections apply to covered workers regardless of immigration status.

Employers owe the unpaid wages plus an equal amount as liquidated damages. The FLSA limitation period is generally two years, or three for willful violations, and retaliation against workers who complain is prohibited. States may add their own penalties and longer limitation periods.

In general, the law of the state where the work is performed applies, which can differ from the employer’s location. See our guide “Remote Work Across State Lines — United States” for how the rules interact.

No. Under 29 CFR 778.105, a workweek is a fixed, recurring period of 168 hours that may begin on any day and at any hour. Once established, its starting point must remain fixed unless a change is intended to be permanent and is not designed to avoid overtime requirements.

Source: 29 CFR 778.105.

No. Under the ordinary FLSA workweek rule, each week stands alone. For example, working 30 hours in one week and 50 in the next does not eliminate overtime owed for the second week, even though the two-week average is 40 hours. A biweekly payday does not change that calculation.

Source: 29 CFR 778.104.

Not when the employer knows or has reason to believe the work is being performed and allows it to continue. Under 29 CFR 785.11 and 785.13, that time counts as work. A rule prohibiting unauthorized work does not, by itself, eliminate the obligation to pay for compensable hours.

Source: 29 CFR 785.11 and 785.13.

They count when they constitute work that the employer knows or has reason to believe is being performed. Section 785.12 applies the hours-worked rule outside the workplace, including at home. Payroll must account for compensable work rather than relying only on the scheduled shift or office attendance.

Source: 29 CFR 785.12.

It can. Sections 785.14 through 785.16 distinguish being engaged to wait from being completely relieved of duty. Waiting that is part of the job and cannot be used effectively for personal purposes generally counts as working time. A sufficiently long period of genuine freedom from duties may be treated differently.

Source: 29 CFR 785.14–785.16.

Under 29 CFR 785.17, on-call time counts when an employee must remain at the employer’s premises or so close that the time cannot be used effectively for personal purposes. Merely remaining reachable generally does not make the entire period working time. The actual restrictions must be examined.

Source: 29 CFR 785.17.

Yes. Under 29 CFR 785.18, short rest breaks, generally lasting from five to about twenty minutes, count as hours worked. They cannot be deducted from compensable waiting time or other working time. This rule addresses how provided breaks are counted; it does not establish a general federal requirement to offer them.

Source: 29 CFR 785.18.

A meal period is not excluded merely because it is labeled lunch. Under 29 CFR 785.19, the employee must be completely relieved of duties to eat a regular meal. Required active or inactive duties while eating prevent that period from qualifying as an unpaid bona fide meal period.

Source: 29 CFR 785.19.

Under the general rule in 29 CFR 785.27, all four conditions must be met: attendance occurs outside regular working hours, is genuinely voluntary, is not directly related to the current job, and involves no productive work. Section 785.28 explains that attendance is not voluntary if employment or working conditions would be adversely affected by not attending.

Source: 29 CFR 785.27 and 785.28.

Generally, no. Section 785.35 treats ordinary travel from home to work and back as a normal incident of employment rather than working time. The rule applies whether the employee reports to a fixed workplace or different job sites. Business travel during the workday is governed by different provisions.

Source: 29 CFR 785.35.

Yes, when it is part of the employee’s principal activity. Section 785.38 includes travel between job sites and travel from a required reporting point where instructions are received, work is performed, or tools are collected and carried to the work location.

Source: 29 CFR 785.38.

Section 785.37 distinguishes a special one-day assignment from an ordinary commute. Travel undertaken for that assignment generally counts as working time, subject to the ordinary commuting component and bona fide meal time that may be excluded under the applicable rules.

Source: 29 CFR 785.37; U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet 22, special one-day assignments.

Under 29 CFR 785.39, travel during the employee’s normal working hours counts, including corresponding hours on nonworking days. The Department of Labor generally does not count passenger travel outside those hours under its enforcement policy. Work performed while traveling must be assessed separately under section 785.41.

Source: 29 CFR 785.39 and 785.41.

Under 29 CFR 785.21, an employee required to remain on duty for less than twenty-four hours is working even when allowed to sleep during quiet periods. Providing sleeping facilities does not change that rule.

Source: 29 CFR 785.21.

Section 785.22 permits an agreement to exclude a regularly scheduled sleep period of no more than eight hours when adequate facilities are provided and an uninterrupted night’s sleep is usually possible. Duty interruptions count as work. Under the Department’s enforcement rule, the whole sleep period counts if interruptions prevent at least five hours of sleep.

Source: 29 CFR 785.22.

Yes, in the circumstances described by 29 CFR 785.43. Waiting for and receiving medical attention on the premises or at the employer’s direction counts when it occurs during normal working hours on a day the employee is working.

Source: 29 CFR 785.43.

No. The Department of Labor treats required uniforms and their maintenance as employer business expenses. Charging those costs to an employee cannot reduce pay below the federal minimum wage or cut into required overtime compensation. Requiring a separate cash payment does not avoid this restriction.

Source: 29 CFR 531.35; U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet 16, Requirements—Uniforms.

Not if the charge reduces earnings below the required federal minimum wage or cuts into required overtime compensation. The Department of Labor applies this restriction to cash shortages, unpaid customer bills, and similar business losses, including losses attributed to an employee’s negligence.

Source: 29 CFR 531.35; U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet 16, Requirements—Other Items.

An employer cannot shift required tool costs to employees when doing so cuts into the minimum wage or overtime compensation required by the FLSA. Section 531.35 applies whether the cost is deducted from payroll or paid indirectly for the employer’s benefit. It does not establish a universal reimbursement rule for every expense regardless of its effect on wages.

Source: 29 CFR 531.35.

Under the ordinary method in 29 CFR 778.111, includable weekly earnings are divided by the hours they compensate to establish the regular hourly rate. When straight-time compensation already covers all hours, an additional half of that rate is owed for each overtime hour. Piece-rate pay does not itself create an overtime exemption.

Source: 29 CFR 778.111.

No. For an employee subject to FLSA overtime, section 778.109 requires an hourly regular rate even when earnings are based on commissions. Includable compensation must be related to the hours it compensates, and applicable overtime must then be calculated. A commission arrangement alone does not establish an exemption.

Source: 29 CFR 778.109.

Under the general rule in 29 CFR 778.115, the regular rate is the weighted average: earnings at the different straight-time rates are added and divided by the total hours worked at those jobs during the workweek. Specific statutory alternatives have additional requirements and do not apply automatically.

Source: 29 CFR 778.115.

Yes. Bonuses that do not qualify for a statutory exclusion must enter the regular rate. Under sections 778.208 and 778.209, a bonus determined later must be allocated to the workweeks in which it was earned, and additional overtime must be paid for affected overtime weeks. A reasonable allocation method is required when exact weekly attribution is impossible.

Source: 29 CFR 778.208 and 778.209.

No. Section 778.211 requires genuine employer discretion over both whether to pay and how much to pay, retained until at or near the end of the relevant period. A prior contract, agreement, or promise creating an expectation of payment generally prevents exclusion under the discretionary-bonus provision.

Source: 29 CFR 778.211.

A lump sum paid without regard to the number of overtime hours worked does not qualify as an overtime premium merely because it is labeled that way or appears generous. The Department of Labor requires the payment arrangement to satisfy the FLSA’s actual overtime calculation rules.

Source: 29 CFR 778.310; U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet 23, Fixed Sum for Varying Amounts of Overtime.

No. Section 778.102 explains that the FLSA does not generally require premium pay solely because work occurs on a Saturday, Sunday, holiday, or regular rest day. Weekly overtime requirements still apply, and a contract or another applicable law may separately require a premium.

Source: 29 CFR 778.102.

Generally, no. Under sections 778.102 and 778.218, the federal overtime threshold concerns hours actually worked. Pay for qualifying periods when no work is performed, such as vacation or a holiday, may be excluded from the regular rate and cannot be credited against overtime compensation owed for actual work.

Source: 29 CFR 778.102 and 778.218.

Under 29 CFR 531.59(b), advance notice must explain the cash wage, the tip credit claimed, that the credit cannot exceed tips actually received, and the rules on retaining tips and permitted pooling. The employer cannot apply the credit to an employee who has not been informed of these requirements.

Source: 29 CFR 531.59(b).

The employer must make up the shortfall. Under 29 CFR 531.59(b), the credit cannot exceed the tips actually received. Cash wages and the allowable credit must together satisfy the federal minimum wage requirement; an employer cannot treat an expected tip amount as money the employee actually received.

Source: 29 CFR 531.59(b).

No. Section 531.52(b)(2) prohibits managers and supervisors from keeping employees’ tips, whether or not the employer takes a tip credit. A manager or supervisor may retain a tip received directly from a customer for service that the manager or supervisor directly and solely provided.

Source: 29 CFR 531.52(b)(2).

Under 29 CFR 531.54(c), the pool must be limited to employees who customarily and regularly receive tips. Employers must notify employees of the required contribution amount and may claim a credit only for tips each employee ultimately receives. Employers, managers, and supervisors cannot receive tips from that pool.

Source: 29 CFR 531.54(c).

Federal rules permit this when the employer pays the full minimum wage without taking a tip credit. Section 531.54(d) allows such pools to include employees who do not customarily receive tips, including cooks and dishwashers. Employers, managers, and supervisors remain excluded. Applicable state rules must also be satisfied.

Source: 29 CFR 531.54(d).

No. Under 29 CFR 531.55, a compulsory service charge is not a tip. Amounts distributed to employees from that charge may satisfy wage obligations but are compensation that must be included in the regular rate for overtime. Calling the charge a gratuity does not make it a voluntary customer tip.

Source: 29 CFR 531.55; U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet 15, Service Charges.

Federal guidance permits deducting no more than the actual transaction fee attributable to the tip. The deduction cannot reduce wages below the required minimum, including any tip credit claimed. Payment cannot be delayed while awaiting reimbursement from the card company. Some states prohibit these deductions even when federal rules would allow them.

Source: FLSA § 3(m)(2)(B); U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet 15, Credit Cards.

Section 531.54(b)(2) generally requires full distribution by the regular payday for the workweek or pay period in which the tips were collected. If the amounts received or their allocation cannot be determined before payroll processing, distribution must occur as soon as practicable after that payday.

Source: 29 CFR 531.54(b)(2).

No. Section 531.56(e) distinguishes separate occupations from related duties within a tipped occupation. For example, an employee working as both a hotel maintenance worker and a server cannot have a tip credit applied to maintenance hours. The actual occupations and duties must be identified rather than treating every hour as tipped work.

Source: 29 CFR 531.56(e).

No. Under 29 CFR 531.60, the regular rate includes the tip credit taken, cash wages, and other includable compensation. It is not limited to the reduced direct cash wage. Customer tips above the credit generally do not have to be included in that regular rate.

Source: 29 CFR 531.60.

Section 516.2 requires records including employee identification, the workweek’s starting point, daily and weekly hours, the pay basis, applicable regular rates, straight-time earnings, overtime premiums, additions and deductions, total wages, and payment dates. The required information must reflect actual work and compensation.

Source: 29 CFR 516.2(a).

Section 516.5 generally requires payroll records to be kept for at least three years. Section 516.6 generally requires supporting records, such as time cards, wage-rate tables, and records underlying additions or deductions, to be kept for at least two years. Other applicable laws may require longer retention.

Source: 29 CFR 516.5, 516.6, and 516.1(c).

No. Section 516.1 does not prescribe a particular order or format. Employers must nevertheless preserve all required information in a usable form and make it available as required. Choosing a spreadsheet, electronic system, or another format does not change the underlying recordkeeping duties.

Source: 29 CFR 516.1(a).

Section 516.2(c) permits recording the normal daily and weekly schedule and indicating when it was actually followed. When more or fewer hours are worked, the records must show the exact hours worked each day and week. A standard schedule cannot conceal deviations.

Source: 29 CFR 516.2(c).

Yes. Every employer with employees subject to the FLSA minimum wage provisions must post the notice prescribed by the Wage and Hour Division in conspicuous places at each establishment, where employees can readily see it. An establishment covered by a broad overtime exemption may add a legible note saying the overtime provisions do not apply.

Source: 29 CFR 516.4: “shall post and keep posted a notice explaining the Act, as prescribed by the Wage and Hour Division, in conspicuous places in every establishment”.

No. Compensatory time off in place of overtime pay is allowed only for employees of state and local public agencies, at a rate of at least one and a half hours for each overtime hour and under an agreement or understanding reached before the work. A private-sector employer must pay overtime in cash on the regular payday.

Source: 29 U.S.C. 207(o): “Employees of a public agency which is a State, a political subdivision of a State, or an interstate governmental agency may receive”.

It can be. The Department of Labor accepts rounding to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth or quarter of an hour, but only if, over time, it does not result in employees being paid for less than all the time they actually worked. Rounding that always favors the employer does not meet that condition.

Source: 29 CFR 785.48(b): “provided that it is used in such a manner that it will not result, over a period of time, in failure to compensate the employees properly for all the time they have actually worked”.

Only uncertain and indefinite periods of a few seconds or minutes, which cannot practically be recorded, may be disregarded. An employer cannot skip any part of the fixed or regular working time, or time the employee is regularly required to spend on assigned duties, however small it is.

Source: 29 CFR 785.47: “An employer may not arbitrarily fail to count as hours worked any part, however small, of the employee’s fixed or regular working time”.

The reasonable cost of board, lodging or other facilities may count as part of the wage only when they are customarily furnished, the employee actually receives them and accepts them voluntarily. Reasonable cost is no more than the employer’s actual cost and cannot include a profit.

Source: 29 CFR 531.3 and 531.30: “it is essential that his acceptance of the facility be voluntary and uncoerced”.

Yes. Under the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, employers must provide reasonable break time each time it is needed, for one year after the child’s birth, and a place other than a bathroom that is shielded from view and free from intrusion. The break may be unpaid unless other law requires pay, but it counts as hours worked if the employee is not completely relieved from duty.

Source: 29 U.S.C. 218d(a) and (b): “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public”.

No. The Equal Pay Act, part of the FLSA, prohibits paying employees of one sex less than employees of the opposite sex in the same establishment for equal work requiring equal skill, effort and responsibility under similar working conditions. Differences are allowed only under a seniority system, a merit system, a system based on quantity or quality of production, or a factor other than sex.

Source: 29 U.S.C. 206(d): “for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions”.

Yes. The FLSA forbids discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee because the employee filed a complaint, started a proceeding, or testified or is about to testify in a proceeding under the Act. Courts and the Department of Labor treat retaliation as a separate violation, in addition to any unpaid wages.

Source: 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3): “to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed any complaint”.

A claim under the FLSA must be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues, or within three years if the violation was willful. Each payday with underpayment generally starts its own period, so older weeks can drop out of a claim. State laws may allow longer periods.

Source: 29 U.S.C. 255(a): “except that a cause of action arising out of a willful violation may be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrued”.

Only outside school hours: no more than 3 hours on a school day, 18 hours in a school week, 8 hours on a non-school day and 40 hours in a non-school week, and only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day). State child labor laws may be stricter.

Source: 29 CFR 570.35(a): “Not more than 18 hours in any 1 week when school is in session”.

Yes, hospitals and residential care establishments may use the 8 and 80 system. By agreement with the employee before the work is performed, overtime is computed over a 14-day period, and time and a half is paid for hours over 8 in a workday and over 80 in the 14 days.

Source: 29 U.S.C. 207(j); 29 CFR 778.601: “for his employment in excess of 8 hours in any workday and in excess of 80 hours in such 14-day period”.

As a general rule, overtime earned in a workweek must be paid on the regular payday for the pay period in which that workweek ends. If the amount cannot be calculated in time, it must be paid as soon as practicable, and never later than the next payday after the calculation can be made.

Source: 29 CFR 778.106: “overtime compensation earned in a particular workweek must be paid on the regular pay day for the period in which such workweek ends”.

Yes. The cost of board, lodging or other facilities cannot be counted as part of the wage to the extent a bona fide collective bargaining agreement applicable to the employee excludes it. An agreement is bona fide when it is made with a certified labor organization under the rules of that section.

Source: 29 CFR 531.6(a) and (b): “shall not be included as part of the wage paid to any employee to the extent it is excluded therefrom under the terms of a bona fide collective bargaining agreement”.

No, when the employee incurred the expense on the employer’s behalf or for the employer’s convenience and the reimbursement reasonably approximates the expense, for example supplies, tools, cell phone plans or equipment bought for the employer. Any amount clearly above the real expense, or payment of ordinary personal expenses, is part of the regular rate.

Source: 29 CFR 778.217: “Payments made by the employer to cover such expenses are not included in the employee’s regular rate (if the amount of the reimbursement reasonably approximates the expense incurred)”.

Yes. A retroactive increase raises the regular rate for the whole period it covers, so additional overtime is owed for each overtime hour worked in that period, whatever the parties agree. A retroactive lump sum must be prorated over the hours of the period, and the extra overtime is due when the increase is paid.

Source: 29 CFR 778.303 and 778.106: “it operates to increase the regular rate of pay of the employees for the period of its retroactivity”.