Seattle minimum wage 2026
The minimum wage in Seattle is $21.30 an hour in 2026, $4.17 above the Washington rate of $17.13. It rises to $22.14 on January 1, 2027. Since January 1, 2025 every Seattle employer pays the same rate, whatever its size, and the rate rises each January 1 with Seattle-area inflation.
Contents10 sections
At a glance
| Minimum wage now | $21.30 an hour, since January 1, 20261 |
|---|---|
| Next change | $22.14 on January 1, 2027 (announced)12 |
| Tipped employees | $21.30, the full minimum wage before tips13 |
| Full-time pay | $852 a week, $44,304 a year at 40 hours a week before taxes · calculate for your hours |
| Enforced by | Seattle Office of Labor Standards, (206) 256-5297 |
What to know about the Seattle minimum wage
Seattle's minimum wage ordinance, Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 14.19, took effect on April 1, 2015, and for almost ten years it ran on several schedules set by employer size.1 Employers with 500 or fewer employees worldwide could pay less if they paid toward a worker's medical benefits or the worker earned tips: in 2024 that reduced rate was $17.25, against $19.97 for everyone else. Employers with more than 500 employees lost the option after 2019.3
The schedules converged on January 1, 2025, when one rate of $20.76 began to apply to every employer.3 Since then no employer may count tips or medical-benefit payments toward the hourly minimum, so restaurant servers, bartenders and other tipped staff are owed the full rate before tips. The rate rose to $21.30 on January 1, 2026.1
The rate moves each January 1 with the CPI-W for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue. On September 28, 2026 the Office of Labor Standards announced that the rate will be $22.14 from January 1, 2027, for employers of every size.2
The Office of Labor Standards takes complaints and also enforces Seattle's separate minimum pay standards for app-based workers. Washington's statewide rate is lower, and workers in Seattle are owed the higher city figure.14
Compared with Washington
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 Seattle, that is the local rate.
| Minimum wage | Next change | Per hour now |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $22.14 on January 1, 2027 | $21.30 |
| Washington (state) | $17.73 on January 1, 2027 | $17.13 |
| Federal | None scheduled | $7.25 |
Tipped employees
| Tip credit | Not allowed: tips are on top of the full minimum wage |
|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $21.30 an hour13 |
Tipped workers get the full Seattle rate before tips.
How the rate changes
The rate is adjusted every January 1 by inflation, using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue. The Office of Labor Standards announces the next year's rate in the fall.
Rate history
| Effective | Status | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2027 | Announced | $22.1412 |
| January 1, 2026 | In effect now | $21.301 |
| January 1, 2025 | One rate for all employers | $20.763 |
| January 1, 2024 | Large employers | $19.973 |
| January 1, 2023 | Large employers | $18.693 |
| January 1, 2022 | Large employers | $17.273 |
Who is covered
Anyone working within Seattle city limits is covered, regardless of immigration status or where the employer is based.
- The Office of Labor Standards can be reached at (206) 256-5297.
Other local rates in Washington
- Burien$21.78
- Tukwila$21.65
- Renton$21.57
- King County (unincorporated areas)$20.82
- Everett$20.77
- SeaTac (hospitality and transportation only)$20.74
- Bellingham$19.13
Everywhere else in Washington, 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 | Seattle Office of Labor Standards |
|---|---|
| Phone | (206) 256-5297 |
| The law | Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 14.19 (Minimum Wage and Minimum Compensation); Seattle Human Resources Rules Chapter 90 |
| Federal | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 |
Sources
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- 4 Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Local minimum wage rates Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
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