Minimum wage by state — Guide for 2023

As consumer prices mark the biggest rise in the past 40 years, understanding your earnings and minimum wage regulations is more important than ever.

Your minimum wage per hour will depend on the state you work in.

Certain US states have no state-based minimum wage regulations, and follow the federal minimum wage rate instead.

On the other hand, some states have their own minimum wage rates.

If this sounds a bit confusing, don't worry — our comprehensive guide on minimum wage by state will help you understand and track relevant minimum wage regulations.

What is minimum wage?

The minimum wage represents the lowest reimbursement an employer is required to pay to their covered nonexempt employees. No such employer can propose a wage lower than the federal minimum or the minimum prescribed by state law (whichever applies).

In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes various labor regulations, including the minimum wage rules. The act establishes a federal minimum wage rate which sits at $7.25 per hour. This rate applies to the employees under the FLSA coverage.

For states who have their own minimum wage regulations and rates that differ from the federal one, the minimum wage rate that will apply depends on:

• Whether an employee is covered by the FLSA, and
• Whether the state minimum wage rate is higher or lower than the federal minimum wage.

Minimum wage by states

Minimum wage rates differ from state to state.

In this table, we include the current minimum wage of all states, the date it came into effect, as well as any official rate changes in the future.

Aside from the states, the United States also has territories in the Caribbean and US-Affiliated Pacific Islands.

The table below shows minimum wage regulations for permanently inhabited US territories.

Cities and counties in certain states have their own minimum wage ordinances, allowing them to regulate local minimum wage rates. The following table provides more information on local minimum wage regulations.

Considering that California has 38 cities that have their own, local minimum wages — you can find the details in the table below.

Minimum wage by state — FAQ

Have you ever wondered what state has the lowest minimum wage or what cities offer the highest minimum wage rates?

Well, the following list of top 15 burning questions about minimum wage will for sure have info you wondered about!

1. What is the history of the minimum wage?

The minimum wage first became a major discussion in the United States after “sweatshops” started opening throughout the country. These sweatshops forced employees to work in extremely poor conditions, with no breaks, and minimum pay.

So, at the beginning of the 1900s, several states adopted minimum wages in an attempt to regulate the issue of low pay. In many of them, wage rules covered women and children. However, in 1923, the US Supreme Court ruled against state minimum wages and found them to be unconstitutional.

The first attempt to introduce minimum wages on the federal level was the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This act was also later found unconstitutional.

Finally, President Roosevelt's attempts came to fruition with the passing of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Fair Labor Standards Act set various labor regulations including the federal minimum wage. In 1938, the minimum wage sat at $0.25.

Today, the US federal minimum wage sits at $7.25 per hour — and it has been that way since the 24th of July 2009. This change was a result of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 which proposed a gradual increase in the minimum wage.

At the moment, no official measure on the minimum wage increase has been decided or enforced.

2. Who gets paid the minimum wage? (and who doesn't)

As explained earlier, all covered nonexempt employees in the US are entitled to a wage not less than $7.25 per hour.

However, certain employee groups — also referred to as exempt employees — are not entitled to the minimum hourly wage. Such exempt workers include:

• Executive, administrative, learned, and creative professionals who are paid on a salary basis and earn not less than $684 per week,
• Computer employees who earn $684 per week or at least $27.63 per hour,
• Highly compensated employees who earn $107,432 or more a year,
• Farm, seasonal, and recreational workers,
• Employees with disabilities,
• Minors and young workers under the age of 20 within their first 90 days of employment,
• Full-time and vocational students,
• Tipped employees, and others.

Note: To view the extensive list of exempt employees, take a look at the extensive list of exempt employees.

3. What are subminimum wages?

FLSA proposes different wage regulations for certain groups of workers. In the following section, you'll learn more about the so-called subminimum wage provisions.

Some workers may be paid a wage lesser than the federal minimum — i.e. they might be paid a subminimum wage — and such workers include:

• Workers with disabilities,
• Full-time students who work in service, agriculture, retail, or higher education institutions, and
• Student learners.

States have the authority to set their own subminimum wage rates as long as they are in accordance with the FLSA.

The following states have eliminated subminimum wage altogether:

• Alaska,
• California,
• Colorado,
• Delaware,
• Hawaii,
• Maine,
• Maryland,
• New Hampshire,
• Oregon,
• Rhode Island,
• South Carolina,
• Tennessee, and
• Washington.

Some states have eliminated subminimum wages only for certain categories.

The minimum wage for workers with disabilities

A worker with a disability is one whose disability impairs their productive or earning capacity for the job they're doing. Some disabilities may include blindness, cerebral palsy, mental illnesses, etc.

Employers who obtain a certificate from the Wage and Hour Division are allowed to pay wages lower than the federal minimum rate to employees with disabilities.

The minimum wage for young workers

Young workers is a term that applies to employees under the age of 20. During the first 90 calendar days of employment, a special minimum wage rate applies.

On the federal level, the wage sits at $4.25. After this period is over, young workers have to receive a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

The minimum wage for full-time students

FLSA specifies different rates for full-time students who wish to work in retail, service stores, agriculture, or colleges and universities.

Employers have to obtain a certificate from the Department of Labor if they wish to hire students. Once they do, they'll have to pay full-time students at least 85% of the minimum wage.

What's more, full-time students can't work more than 20 hours a week during school time and 40 hours when school is not in session.

Finally, after graduation (or dropping out), full-time students are entitled to the regular minimum wage, which is $7.25 by federal regulations.

The minimum wage for student learners

Student learners present a group of workers of at least 16 years old and are part of vocational education or shop courses. To hire such workers, employers again need to obtain a certificate from the Department of Labor.

While enrolled in shop courses, student learners can't be paid less than 75% of the minimum wage.

4. What are minimum wages for tipped employees?

This is a special category of workers who are also exempt from the minimum wage requirements. By definition, a tipped employee is a worker who regularly receives over $30 in tips per month.

Under federal law, employers who hire tipped employees have to pay them no less than $2.13 per hour in wages.

However, this regulation only applies when the wages and tips received equal the federal minimum wage when combined. If that's not the case, employers have to make up the difference to employees.

States have the authority to change the rates for tipped workers in accordance with the FLSA.

Minimum wage rates are just one of the crucial labor regulations you should learn about. To get a clear picture of relevant labor regulations, check out State Labor Laws Guides.

5. What state has the lowest minimum wage?

Two US states have minimum wage requirements lower than the federal one:

• Georgia, and
• Wyoming.

In both of these states, the minimum wage sits at $5.15 per hour. However, employers and employees covered by the FLSA are entitled to the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25. Furthermore, workers covered by both the state minimum wage law and FLSA are entitled to receive the federal minimum rate (since it's a higher wage).

6. What state has the highest minimum wage?

As of 2023, these states have the highest minimum wages:

1. Washington — $15.74,
2. California — $15.5, and
3. Massachusetts — $15.

In June of 2023, Connecticut is set to raise its minimum wage to $15 as well.

7. What states are increasing their minimum wage in 2023?

First, New York increased its minimum wage on December 31, 2022 — from $13.2 to $14.2.

Next, here are the states that increased their minimum wage in January of 2023:

• Alaska — from $10.34 to $10.85,
• Arizona — from $12.8 to $13.85,
• California — from $14 to $15.5,
• Colorado — from $12.56 to $13.65,
• Delaware — from $10.50 to $11.75,
• Illinois — from $12 to $13,
• Maine — from 12.75 to $13.8,
• Maryland — from $12.5 to $13.25,
• Massachusetts — from $14.25 to $15,
• Michigan — from $9.87 to $10.1,
• Minnesota — from $10.33, $8.42 (for small employers) to $10.59, $8.63 (for small employers),
• Missouri — from $11.15 to $12,
• Montana — from $9.2, $4.00 (for not FLSA covered businesses) to $9.95, $4.00 (for not FLSA covered businesses),
• Nebraska — from $9 to $10.5,
• New Jersey — from $13, $11.9 (seasonal and small employers) to $14.13, $12.93 (seasonal and small employers),
• New Mexico — from $11.5 to $12,
• Ohio — from $9.3 (large businesses — gross $372,000), $7.25 for others to $10.1 (large businesses — gross $372,000), $7.25 for others,
• Rhode Island — from $12.25 to $13,
• South Dakota — from $9.95 to $10.8,
• Vermont — from $12.55 to $13.18,
• Virginia — from $11 to $12, and
• Washington — from $14.49 to $15.74.

Last, these states will raise their minimum wage rates during 2023:

• Connecticut — from $14 to $15 (June 1, 2023),
• Florida — from $11 to $12 (Sep 30, 2023), and
• Nevada — from $10.5 to $11.25 for employees without health insurance and from $9.5 to $10.25 for employees with health insurance (Jul 1, 2023).

8. What states are increasing their minimum wage in 2024?

The following states will increase their minimum wage in 2024, at the following dates:

• Increase starts Jan 1, 2024:

• Delaware — from $11.75 to $13.25,
• Hawaii — from $12 to $14,
• Maryland — from $13.25 to $14,
• Nebraska — from $10.5 to $12, and
• Rhode Island — from $13 to $14.

• Increase starts Jul 1, 2024:

• Nevada — from $10.25 (employees with health insurance) or $11.25 (employees without health insurance) to $12 (for all).

• Increase starts Sep 30, 2024:

• Florida — from $12 to $13.

9. What are the states with a higher minimum wage than the federal one?

Here's the list of the minimum wage by state for states with a rate above $7.25:

• Washington — $15.74,
• California — $15.50,
• Massachusetts — $15,
• Connecticut — $15,
• New York — $14.20,
• New Jersey — $14.13, $12.93 (seasonal and small employers),
• Arizona — $13.85,
• Maine — $13.80,
• Colorado — $13.65,
• Oregon — $13.5,
• Maryland — $13.25,
• Vermont — $13.18,
• Rhode Island — $13,
• Illinois — $13,
• Virginia — $12,
• New Mexico — $12,
• Missouri — $12,
• Hawaii — $12,
• Florida — $12,
• Delaware — $11.75,
• Nevada — $11.25 (employees without health insurance), $10.25 (employees with health insurance),
• Arkansas — $11,
• Alaska — $10.85,
• South Dakota— $10.8,
• Minnesota — $10.59, $8.63 (small employers),
• Nebraska — $10.50,
• Ohio — $10.1 (large employers), $7.25 (others),
• Michigan — $10.10,
• Montana — $9.95, and
• West Virginia — $8.75.

10. What states have the same minimum wage as the federal one?

Employees in 18 states have to be paid at least $7.25, which equals the federal minimum wage.

Some of these states don't have any minimum wage requirements — hence, the federal regulations apply.

In contrast, some states have minimum wage regulations, as that allows them to adjust their rates according to price changes and the cost of living — but decided that their rates should at the moment equal the federal.

In these states, the minimum wage rate equals the federal rate of $7.25 per hour:

• Alabama,
• Idaho,
• Indiana,
• Iowa,
• Kansas,
• Kentucky,
• Louisiana,
• Mississippi,
• New Hampshire,
• North Carolina,
• North Dakota,
• Oklahoma,
• Pennsylvania,
• South Carolina,
• Tennessee,
• Texas,
• Utah, and
• Wisconsin.

11. Which states have lower minimum wage rates than the federal one?

If a state sets minimum wages to a number lower than the federal minimum, the federal wage rate applies to FLSA-covered employees. Only two US states have lower minimum wage rates than the federal one:

• Georgia $5.15, and
• Wyoming $5.15.

12. What are the states with no minimum wage rates?

When a state has no minimum wage requirements, the federal one applies instead ($7.25 per hour). These 5 states do not regulate minimum wages:

• Alabama,
• Louisiana,
• Mississippi,
• South Carolina, and
• Tennessee.

13. What are the top 10 cities with the highest minimum wage?

Here are the top 10 cities with the highest minimum wages:

• SeaTac, Washington — $19.06,
• Tukwila, Washington — $18.99 ($16.99 for small employers),
• Seattle, Washington — $18.69,
• Emeryville, California — $17.68,
• Mountain View, California — $18.15,
• Sunnyvale, California — $17.95,
• West Hollywood, California — $17.5 ($17 for small employers),
• El Cerrito, California — $17.35,
• Denver, Colorado — $17.29, and
• Palo Alto, California — $17.25.

14. How many states have a $15 per hour minimum wage (or higher)?

Only 3 American states have a minimum wage rate equal to or above $15 per hour:

• Massachusetts — $15,
• California — $15.5, and
• Washington — $15.74.

One more state will join the list this year. In June of 2023, Connecticut will increase its minimum wage to $15.

15. Which states have annual minimum wage adjustments?

States have different ways of regulating their minimum wages.

Some states have set rates that can be changed upon an official decision by the state legislature.

Others have scheduled yearly adjustments based on set formulas or are tied to inflation and changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI — measures price changes over time).

These are the states that regularly adjust their minimum wage rates:

• Alaska,
• Arizona,
• California,
• Colorado,
• Florida,
• Maine,
• Minnesota,
• Missouri,
• Montana,
• New Jersey,
• Nevada,
• Ohio,
• Oregon,
• South Dakota,
• Vermont, and
• Washington.

Minimum wage laws — conclusion and disclaimer

Hopefully, our comprehensive guide helped you get familiar with all of the relevant information about minimum wages in the United States. You can get more data on minimum wages for each state by following the official links we:

• Provided as sources next to each state in the table, and
• Used as sources in the State Labor Laws guides linked earlier in this guide.

Please bear in mind — this article was written in Q1 of 2023. Thus, it may not include changes introduced after it was published.

We strongly advise you to consult the appropriate institutions and/or certified representatives before acting on any legal matters.

Clockify is not responsible for any losses or risks incurred, should this guide be used without legal guidance.