Youth, student and training minimum wages
Federal law and some states allow lower minimum wages for young workers, full-time students and trainees. Each lower rate comes with limits, and a state that does not allow it can override the federal option.
Contents5 sections
Key takeaways
- Under federal law, workers under 20 can be paid $4.25 an hour for their first 90 consecutive calendar days with an employer.1
- Full-time students can be paid 85% of the minimum wage, and vocational student-learners 75%, only with a Department of Labor certificate.23
- When a state or city minimum wage is higher, its own rules decide whether any lower rate is allowed.2
The federal youth opportunity wage
Employers can pay workers under the age of 20 a minimum of $4.25 an hour during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment. The 90 days run from the first day of work, whether or not the employee works every day, and the rate ends sooner if the worker turns 20. After that, the full minimum wage applies. Employers may not displace other workers, or cut their hours or benefits, in order to hire someone at the youth rate.1 The $4.25 figure is set in the law and has not changed since it was introduced in 1996.
Students and student-learners
Two further federal rates require a certificate from the Wage and Hour Division before the employer uses them:23
- Full-time students working in retail or service businesses, agriculture, or colleges and universities can be paid at least 85% of the minimum wage, with limits of 8 hours a day and 20 hours a week while school is in session, and 40 hours a week when it is not.
- Student-learners, aged at least 16 and enrolled in a vocational education program, can be paid at least 75% of the minimum wage while they are enrolled.
State rules
States decide for themselves whether to allow lower rates for minors, students or trainees, and many do not. When a state’s minimum wage is higher than $7.25, the state’s own rules decide what young workers must be paid, because the higher law applies.2 The table lists the special rates that states set themselves, as recorded on each state page.
| State | Rate | Rule | Per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Apprentices and learners | The Commissioner of Labor may authorize a lower wage for approved apprentices and learners (AS 23.10.070). | – |
| Arkansas | Full-time students with a state certificate | At least 85% of the minimum wage, with a certificate from the Division of Labor, for a full-time student at an accredited Arkansas school. Hours are limited to 20 a week while school is in session and 40 a week when it is not (11 CAR 11-301). | – |
| Arkansas | Learners, apprentices and student-learners | At least 85% of the minimum wage when the employer holds the matching authorization from the U.S. Department of Labor (11 CAR 11-401). | – |
| California | Learners, first 160 hours | Employees with no similar or related experience may be paid 85% of the minimum wage, rounded to the nearest nickel, for their first 160 hours in the occupation. | – |
| Colorado | Minors under 18 (not emancipated) | Up to 15% below the full state minimum wage (COMPS Rule 3.3); $12.89 an hour in 2026. | $12.89 |
| Connecticut | Minors under 18, first 90 days | Workers under 18 who are not emancipated may be paid 85% of the minimum fair wage, or $10.10 if that is higher, for their first 90 days of work, then the full rate (CGS 31-58(i)(5)). | – |
| Idaho | New employees under 20, first 90 days | Employees under 20 may be paid this rate during their first 90 consecutive calendar days with an employer. | $4.25 |
| Illinois | Workers under 18 | Applies while the worker has worked fewer than 650 hours in the calendar year. After 650 hours, the adult rate applies for the rest of that year. | $13.00 |
| Illinois | Learners and workers with disabilities | Employers may obtain a license from the Illinois Department of Labor to pay a reduced rate, set license by license. The department will stop issuing and recognizing these licenses for workers with disabilities on December 31, 2029. | – |
| Indiana | Training wage, workers under 20 | May be paid for the first 90 consecutive calendar days after the employee is first hired. | $4.25 |
| Iowa | New employees, first 90 calendar days | The full state rate need not be paid until the employee completes 90 calendar days. Employers also covered by the federal law must still pay the federal minimum unless a federal exception applies. | $6.35 |
| Maryland | Workers under 18 | Employers may pay employees under 18 85% of the state minimum wage. | – |
| Michigan | Minors aged 16 and 17 | 85% of the minimum wage. Rises to $12.75 on January 1, 2027. | $11.67 |
| Michigan | Training wage, new hires under 20 | May be paid for the first 90 calendar days of employment. | $4.25 |
| Minnesota | Training wage, under 20, first 90 days | For employees under 20 during their first 90 consecutive days of employment. Rises to $9.68 on January 1, 2027. | $9.31 |
| Nebraska | Youth, ages 14 and 15 | For workers aged 14 or 15 who are not emancipated, since July 18, 2026. Rises 1.5% on January 1, 2030 and every fifth year after. | $13.50 |
| Nebraska | Training wage, new employees aged 16 to 19 | Up to 90 days from hire, plus another 90 days during on-the-job training approved by the Commissioner of Labor; not for seasonal, migrant or emancipated workers. $13.50 through December 31, 2026, then rising 1.5% each January 1. | $13.50 |
| Nebraska | Student-learners | At least 75% of the minimum wage for students in bona fide vocational training programs. | – |
| New Hampshire | Workers aged 16 and under | At least 75% of the minimum wage. Employers covered by federal law must still follow federal rules, including the $4.25 rate allowed only for workers under 20 in their first 90 days. | – |
| New Jersey | Training wage, first 120 hours | At least 90% of the minimum wage for the first 120 hours after hire, for an employee in an on-the-job training program in an occupation where they have no similar experience. Employers with repeated knowing violations lose the right to use it. | – |
| North Carolina | Full-time students, learners, apprentices and messengers | 90% of the minimum wage, rounded down to the nickel (G.S. 95-25.3(b)). Applies only to jobs under the state Act, not to federally covered work. | – |
| North Dakota | Vocational education students | The Labor Commissioner may license a rate of no less than 85% of the minimum wage for up to one year. | – |
| Rhode Island | Minors aged 14 and 15 (24 hours a week or less) | At least 75% of the state minimum wage; all hours in a week over 24 must be paid at the full rate. | $12.00 |
| Rhode Island | Full-time students under 19 at certain nonprofits | At least 90% of the state minimum wage when working for nonprofit religious, educational, library or community-service organizations. | $14.40 |
| South Dakota | Opportunity wage (under 20) | Workers under 20 may be paid the federal opportunity wage, defined in the federal Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1996, during their first 90 days (SDCL 60-11-4.1). | – |
| Utah | Minors under 18, first 90 days | An employer may pay a minor under 18 $4.25 an hour in 2026 during the first 90 days of employment. | $4.25 |
| Virginia | Approved on-the-job training program (up to 90 days) | 75% of the Virginia minimum wage or the federal minimum, whichever is greater, for up to 90 days. | – |
| Washington | Workers aged 14 and 15 | At least 85% of the adult minimum wage. | $14.56 |
| Washington | Workers aged 14 and 15, from January 1, 2027 | 85% of the $17.73 minimum for 2027, announced by the Department of Labor and Industries on September 30, 2026. | $15.07 |
| West Virginia | Training wage (under 20, first 90 days) | For employees under 20 first hired after December 31, 2014, for a cumulative 90 days, with 90 more days if the business has operated for less than 90 days. | $6.40 |
| Wisconsin | Opportunity wage (under 20) | For workers under 20, until 90 consecutive calendar days of employment have passed or the worker turns 20, whichever comes first. | $5.90 |
| Wisconsin | Tipped opportunity employee | Cash wage for tipped workers during the opportunity period. | $2.13 |
| Wyoming | Workers under 20, first 90 days (state law) | Allowed for the first 90 consecutive days under W.S. 27-4-202(c); employers may not displace other employees to use it. | $4.25 |
Child labor laws, which limit the hours and jobs of workers under 18, are separate from minimum wage rules and are not covered here.
Sources
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- 3 U.S. Department of Labor, elaws FLSA Advisor: subminimum wage programs Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
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