MinimumWageRates

US minimum wage by state, city and county

Try a state (“Ohio”), a city (“Seattle”) or a topic (“tipped wage”).

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Minimum wage guides

The rules that apply across states and cities: the federal minimum wage, tipped wages, overtime and the exempt salary level, lower rates for young workers and trainees, upcoming increases, where cities may set their own rate and how to tell which rate applies to a job. For the rate in a particular place, start from its state or city page.

All guides (9)

  1. Can cities set their own minimum wage? Local minimum wage laws by state

    Which states let cities and counties set a higher minimum wage, which bar it by statute, and how local minimum wages apply to work done inside city limits.

    Local ratesReviewed

  2. Minimum wage increases in 2027: every state and city

    Every minimum wage increase announced or set in law for 2027 in US states, cities and counties, with the date, the current rate and the new rate.

    Upcoming changesUpdated

  3. Overtime laws by state: weekly, daily and the exempt salary level

    When overtime is due in every state: the federal 40-hour rule, daily overtime, double time and seventh-day rules, and higher salary levels for exempt staff.

    OvertimeReviewed

  4. States with a $7.25 minimum wage

    The 20 states where the federal $7.25 was the minimum wage in 2026: states with no wage law, with a $5.15 state rate, or with $7.25 set in state law.

    State ratesReviewed

  5. Federal minimum wage: $7.25 an hour and who it covers

    The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, unchanged since July 24, 2009. Who the FLSA covers, the tipped and youth rates, and when a state or city rate applies.

    FederalReviewed

  6. Federal minimum wage history: every rate since 1938

    Every federal minimum wage rate from 25 cents in 1938 to $7.25 in 2009, with the date each took effect and how state rates have moved since the last increase.

    FederalReviewed

  7. Tipped minimum wage by state: cash wage and tip credit

    The minimum cash wage for tipped employees in every state, which states ban the tip credit, and the federal rules on notice, tip pools and service charges.

    Tipped wagesReviewed

  8. Which minimum wage applies: federal, state or city?

    When federal, state and city minimum wages differ, the higher rate applies. How to tell which rate covers your job, including work across city or state lines.

    The basicsReviewed

  9. Youth, student and training minimum wages

    The federal $4.25 youth wage, student and learner certificates, and the lower rates some states allow for minors and trainees, with the rules for each.

    Special ratesReviewed

How the three levels fit together

Minimum wages in the United States are set at three levels. The federal rate, $7.25 an hour, is the floor for jobs covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act. States can set a higher rate, and most do; a few have no law of their own or a rate below the federal one, which then matters only for jobs outside federal coverage. Cities and counties can go higher again where their state allows it.

When more than one rate covers a job, the worker is owed the highest. Start with the guide to which rate applies, then check the state page and, if your city or county sets its own rate, its local page. Tipped workers, young workers and trainees can be covered by separate rules, explained in the guides above.