Albuquerque minimum wage 2026
The minimum wage in Albuquerque is $12.00 an hour in 2026. It rises to $13.00 on January 1, 2027. Albuquerque has its own minimum wage ordinance, but for several years, through 2026, its indexed figure fell below New Mexico's $12.00, so the state rate set the floor in the city. Ordinance O-26-33, signed in June 2026, schedules the city's own increases: $13.00 on January 1, 2027, $14.00 in 2028 and $15.00 in 2029.
Contents11 sections
At a glance
| Minimum wage now | $12.00 an hour, since January 1, 202612 |
|---|---|
| Next change | $13.00 on January 1, 2027 (set in law)3 |
| Tipped employees | $7.20 cash wage, tip credit up to $4.8013 |
| Full-time pay | $480 a week, $24,960 a year at 40 hours a week before taxes · calculate for your hours |
| Enforced by | City of Albuquerque Legal Department, 505-768-2000 |
What to know about the Albuquerque minimum wage
Albuquerque has its own minimum wage law, Chapter 13, Article 12 of the city code, with its own yearly inflation adjustment. For several years, through 2026, that adjustment produced figures below New Mexico's $12.00, and because the higher rate always applies, the state figure governed inside the city. In 2026 the city's own calculation came to $11.85, or $10.85 with benefits, so employers paid $12.00.21
That changes with Ordinance O-26-33, which the City Council passed 5-4 on June 1, 2026 and the mayor signed on June 12.43 It replaces indexing with fixed steps of $13.00 on January 1, 2027, $14.00 in 2028 and $15.00 in 2029, then restores yearly CPI-W adjustments from 2030. The benefits rate stays $1.00 lower, which in 2027 lands exactly on the state's $12.00.3
Tipped workers face a different change. Their cash wage, $7.20 an hour in 2026, will be set as a falling share of the city minimum: 55.5% in 2027, 52% in 2028 and 50% in 2029, while tips must still bring total pay to the full rate. The city's notice with the exact 2027 tipped figure is due by October 15, 2026.31
The City Attorney's office handles the law. Employers must post its yearly notice in English and Spanish, and workers who are underpaid can recover the wages owed plus twice that amount.1
All 2026 rates
The city ordinance has three rates. The standard rate covers most workers. An employer that pays at least $2,500 a year per worker toward health care or child care may pay $1.00 less, but never below the state minimum. Tipped employees have a lower cash wage, provided tips bring them up to the standard rate.
In 2026 the standard and benefits rates both equal the state's $12.00, because the city's own CPI-indexed figures ($11.85, or $10.85 with benefits) were lower and the higher rate always applies. On January 1, 2027 the standard city rate rises to $13.00, while the benefits rate stays at $12.00 until it rises to $13.00 in 2028.
| Rate | Applies to | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Standard rate | Employees working at least 2 hours a week in Albuquerque$13.00 from January 1, 20273 | $12.0012 |
| With $2,500 or more in health or child care benefits | Workers whose employer pays at least $2,500 a year toward their health care or child care; $1.00 below the standard rate, never below the state $12.00$13.00 from January 1, 20283 | $12.0012 |
| Tipped cash wage | Employees who customarily and regularly receive tips | $7.2012 |
Compared with New Mexico
When a local minimum wage, the state minimum wage and the federal minimum wage differ, the employer must pay the highest one that applies to the work. For most covered work in Albuquerque, that is the local rate.
| Minimum wage | Next change | Per hour now |
|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | $13.00 on January 1, 2027 | $12.00 |
| New Mexico (state) | None scheduled | $12.00 |
| Federal | None scheduled | $7.25 |
Tipped employees
| Tip credit | Allowed |
|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $7.20 an hour13 |
| Maximum tip credit | $4.80 an hour |
Tipped employees get a cash wage of at least $7.20 an hour in 2026, and tips must bring total pay to the minimum wage; the employer must give written notice and back the credit with tip records. Under Ordinance O-26-33 the tipped cash wage becomes 55.5% of the city minimum from January 1, 2027, 52% from 2028 and 50% from 2029.
An employer that takes a tip credit must make up the difference whenever wages plus tips fall short of the full minimum wage for the workweek. See the tipped minimum wage guide.
How the rate changes
Ordinance O-26-33 fixes $13.00 for 2027, $14.00 for 2028 and $15.00 for 2029. From January 1, 2030 the rate rises each year by the August-to-August change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W, U.S. city average), rounded to the nearest five cents and never lowered. The city must post the next year's rates on its website by October 15.
The $13.00 rate for January 1, 2027 is fixed in Ordinance O-26-33; the city's formal notice of 2027 rates, including the tipped cash wage, is due by October 15, 2026.
Rate history
| Effective | Status | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2029 | Set in law | $15.003 |
| January 1, 2028 | Set in law | $14.003 |
| January 1, 2027 | Set in law Ordinance O-26-33 | $13.003 |
| January 1, 2026 | In effect now State $12.00 applies | $12.0012 |
| January 1, 2025 | State $12.00 applies | $12.001 |
| January 1, 2024 | State $12.00 applies | $12.001 |
| January 1, 2023 | State $12.00 applies | $12.001 |
| January 1, 2022 | State rate applies | $11.501 |
Who is covered
Covers hours worked inside city limits by anyone who works at least 2 hours in a week for an employer that needs a city business license or registration, including the City itself, staffing agencies and subcontractors; part-time, seasonal and temporary workers are included. Workers excluded from the state wage law (such as commission salespeople and certain learners and apprentices), for-credit interns, college work-study students and holders of state sub-minimum certificates are not covered.
- The City Council passed the increase 5-4 on June 1, 2026; the mayor signed it on June 12, 2026.
- Employers must post the City Attorney's yearly notice in English and Spanish and keep payroll and tip records for three years.
- Workers can recover back wages with interest plus twice the amount owed and attorney's fees, and violations are also petty misdemeanors.
- City employees earning $80,000 or less must get raises matching each cost-of-living increase in the minimum wage from 2030.
- Unincorporated Bernalillo County has its own, separate ordinance; its 2026 figure of $10.95 is below the state minimum.
Other local rates in New Mexico
- Santa Fe$15.40
- Santa Fe County (unincorporated areas)$15.40
- Las Cruces$13.01
Everywhere else in New Mexico, the state rate applies.
Get help or file a claim
If you are paid less than the minimum wage that applies to your job, you can file a wage claim with the agency below. Federal law prohibits firing or otherwise retaliating against a worker for complaining about federal minimum wage rights.
| Agency | City of Albuquerque Legal Department |
|---|---|
| Phone | 505-768-2000 |
| The law | ROA 1994, Chapter 13, Article 12 (Albuquerque Minimum Wage Ordinance), Sections 13-12-1 to 13-12-7; Ordinance O-26-33 (2026) raising the minimum wage to $13/$14/$15 and changing indexing |
| Federal | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 |
Sources
- 1 City of Albuquerque, Legal Department, Albuquerque Minimum Wage Information Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
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