MinimumWageRates

US minimum wage by state, city and county

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States with a $7.25 minimum wage

In 2026, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is the highest wage floor in 20 states. Five have no minimum wage law, two set a lower state rate for jobs outside federal coverage, and 13 set $7.25 or adopt the federal figure in their own law.

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Contents9 sections

Key takeaways

  • On October 28, 2026, 20 states had no minimum wage above the federal $7.25 an hour.⁠1
  • Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee have no minimum wage law; Georgia and Wyoming set $5.15 for jobs the federal law does not cover.⁠1
  • In these states, a worker whose job falls outside the Fair Labor Standards Act can be owed less than $7.25, or no minimum at all.⁠1⁠2
  • Six of the 20 set a tipped cash wage above the federal $2.13 in 2026, up to $4.86 in North Dakota.⁠3
  • The rate rises only if Congress raises the federal minimum or a state legislature or ballot measure sets a higher state rate.⁠4⁠5

Quick facts

Rate in 2026$7.25 an hour, the federal minimum since July 24, 2009
States at $7.25 in 202620
No state lawAlabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee
Lower state rate$5.15 in Georgia and Wyoming, for jobs outside federal coverage

Which states use the federal $7.25

In 2026, 20 states have no general minimum wage above the federal $7.25 an hour. The U.S. Department of Labor sorts them into three groups: states with no minimum wage law, states whose own rate is below $7.25, and states whose rate equals the federal one.⁠1 In every one of them, an employer covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must pay at least $7.25, the federal rate since July 24, 2009.⁠6

The table lists each state with the reason the federal rate applies, the cash wage for tipped employees and whether state law lets cities set a higher rate. Each state page gives the details and the statute.

States where the federal $7.25 is the minimum wage on October 28, 2026
StateState minimum wage lawTipped cash wageLocal minimum wages
Alabama No state law $2.13 Barred by state law
Georgia State law sets $5.15 $2.13 Barred by state law
Idaho State law sets $7.25 or the federal rate $3.35 Barred by state law
Indiana State law sets $7.25 or the federal rate $2.13 Barred by state law
Iowa State law sets $7.25 or the federal rate $4.35 Barred by state law
Kansas State law sets $7.25 or the federal rate $2.13 Barred by state law
Kentucky State law sets $7.25 or the federal rate $2.13 Barred by state law
Louisiana No state law $2.13 Barred by state law
Mississippi No state law $2.13 Barred by state law
New Hampshire State law sets $7.25 or the federal rate $3.27 Not barred
North Carolina State law sets $7.25 or the federal rate $2.13 Barred by state law
North Dakota State law sets $7.25 or the federal rate $4.86 Barred by state law
Oklahoma State law sets $7.25 or the federal rate $2.13 Barred by state law
Pennsylvania State law sets $7.25 or the federal rate $2.83 Barred by state law
South Carolina No state law $2.13 Barred by state law
Tennessee No state law $2.13 Barred by state law
Texas State law sets $7.25 or the federal rate $2.13 Barred by state law
Utah State law sets $7.25 or the federal rate $2.13 Barred by state law
Wisconsin State law sets $7.25 or the federal rate $2.33 Barred by state law
Wyoming State law sets $5.15 $2.13 Not barred

Three ways a state ends up at $7.25

No state minimum wage law. Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee have no minimum wage law of their own. Employers subject to the FLSA must pay $7.25, and nothing else applies.⁠1

A state rate below $7.25. Georgia and Wyoming both set $5.15 an hour in state law. The Georgia Department of Labor states that, with limited exceptions, the federal rate applies instead,⁠7 and the Department of Labor’s summary notes that Georgia’s rate covers only employers with six or more employees.⁠1 In both states the lower figure matters only for jobs outside federal coverage. Oklahoma is a related case: its law follows the federal rate, but the Department of Labor lists $2.00 an hour for small employers outside federal coverage, those with fewer than 10 full-time employees at one location and annual gross sales of $100,000 or less.⁠1

$7.25 in state law. The remaining states are Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. Some write $7.25 into the statute, as Iowa has since January 1, 2008.⁠8 Others tie the state rate to the federal one: Kentucky’s rate rises to match any higher federal minimum on the same date,⁠12 and the Texas Labor Code sets the state minimum at the federal rate.⁠13 Utah’s Labor Commission sets the rate by rule but may not set it above the federal minimum.⁠14

Workers outside federal coverage

The difference between these groups matters for jobs the FLSA does not reach. The federal law covers every employee of an enterprise with at least two employees and annual sales or business of at least $500,000, and of hospitals, residential care facilities, schools, preschools and public agencies regardless of sales.⁠2 Employees of smaller businesses are still covered individually if their work regularly involves commerce between states, such as producing goods shipped out of state, making interstate calls, handling interstate transactions or traveling across state lines. Domestic workers such as housekeepers, full-time babysitters and cooks are normally covered too.⁠2

Most jobs meet one of these tests, but some do not, for example at a small local business whose work stays within the state. For those jobs the result depends on the state:

  • No state law. In the five states without a minimum wage law, a job outside federal coverage has no minimum wage.⁠1
  • Georgia and Wyoming. The state’s $5.15 applies, subject to the state law’s own exclusions.⁠1
  • Oklahoma. Small employers below the state law’s size and sales thresholds may pay $2.00.⁠1
  • States with $7.25 in their own law. The state rate usually reaches at least some of these jobs, but coverage varies. Iowa’s law exempts most businesses with less than $300,000 in annual sales,⁠8 while Wisconsin’s covers most employers, including many outside federal coverage.⁠9

Federal exemptions, such as those for executive, administrative and professional employees, also differ from state exemptions. A job exempt under one law can still be covered by the other, and the employer must then pay the rate of the law that covers it.

Tipped employees

Under federal law an employer can pay a tipped employee $2.13 an hour in cash if tips bring the total to at least $7.25. Fourteen of the 20 states follow that figure in 2026. Six set a higher cash wage: North Dakota $4.86, Iowa $4.35, Idaho $3.35, New Hampshire $3.27, Pennsylvania $2.83 and Wisconsin $2.33.⁠3 Iowa and North Dakota express the tip credit as a share of the minimum wage, 40% and 33%.⁠3

Rules on who counts as tipped also differ. Under federal law it is an employee who regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips; Pennsylvania’s higher cash wage applies to employees who receive more than $135 a month.⁠3 The tipped minimum wage guide covers tip pools, notice and service charges.

Youth and training rates

Federal law allows a youth opportunity wage of $4.25 an hour for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days with an employer, and an employer may not displace other workers to use it.⁠11 Several of these states have similar rules in their own law. Idaho allows $4.25 for new employees under 20 for their first 90 days,⁠10 Wisconsin sets an opportunity wage of $5.90 for workers under 20 for up to 90 days,⁠9 and Iowa allows $6.35 for any new employee during the first 90 calendar days.⁠8 An employer covered by the FLSA must still meet the federal rule, so a state rate below $7.25 can be paid only where the federal youth wage or another federal exception also allows it. The youth and training guide lists the rates in every state.

Local minimum wages

City and county minimum wages, which raise the floor in parts of other states, are almost entirely absent here. In 18 of the 20 states, state law bars cities and counties from setting a higher minimum wage. Kentucky’s KRS 65.016, for example, forbids every type of local government from requiring employers to pay a particular wage,⁠15 and the Texas Labor Code makes the state minimum wage supersede any local wage for private employment.⁠13 New Hampshire and Wyoming have no such statute, but no city or town in either state has adopted a minimum wage. The local minimum wage guide covers each state’s rule.

What would change the rate

The federal minimum is written into section 6 of the FLSA, and it changes only when Congress amends that section; it has no inflation adjustment.⁠4 The FLSA does not stop a state from setting a higher rate,⁠5 so each of these states can also raise its own minimum through its legislature or, where the state constitution allows, a ballot measure. In states whose law follows the federal rate, such as Kentucky and Texas, a federal increase would raise the state rate as well.⁠12⁠13 Until one of these happens, $7.25 remains the floor, as it has since July 24, 2009.⁠6 The federal minimum wage history lists every earlier increase.

Sources

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