Alabama minimum wage 2026
The minimum wage in Alabama is $7.25 an hour in 2026. Alabama has no minimum wage law of its own. The $7.25 figure is the federal minimum, owed only by employers the Fair Labor Standards Act covers, and a 2016 state law stops Birmingham or any other city or county from setting a higher one.
Contents11 sections
At a glance
| Minimum wage now | $7.25 an hour, since July 24, 20091 |
|---|---|
| Next change | None scheduled. |
| Tipped employees | $2.13 cash wage, tip credit up to $5.122 |
| Overtime | 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours a week (federal law only)14 · details |
| Full-time pay | $290 a week, $15,080 a year at 40 hours a week before taxes · calculate for your hours |
| Enforced by | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 |
What to know about the Alabama minimum wage
Alabama has never passed a minimum wage statute, so the only wage floor in the state is the federal one in the Fair Labor Standards Act: $7.25 an hour since July 24, 2009.1 That federal law decides who is protected. An employee whose job it covers must get at least that rate; a worker in a job it does not reach has no minimum wage under Alabama law at all.
Birmingham tried to go further. Its 2015 ordinance would have paid $8.50 in 2016 and $10.10 in 2017, but in 2016 the Legislature passed the Alabama Uniform Minimum Wage and Right-to-Work Act, stating that its purpose was to apply labor regulation uniformly throughout the state.3 The act voided the city's wage before it took effect. Workers and civil rights groups sued, arguing racial discrimination in the act's passage. A federal district court dismissed the case on February 1, 2017, a three-judge appeals panel revived it on July 25, 2018, and the full Eleventh Circuit vacated that panel decision on January 30, 2019 to hear the case itself.3 The full court later ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing, so the act stands.
For restaurant and other tipped staff the federal rule applies: an employer may pay $2.13 an hour in cash in 2026 if the employee regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips and the tips bring the hourly total to at least $7.25.2 Alabama has no state office that enforces minimum pay, so unpaid-wage complaints go to the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. No increase is scheduled; the figure moves only if Congress changes the federal minimum.
Tipped employees
| Tip credit | Allowed |
|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.13 an hour2 |
| Maximum tip credit | $5.12 an hour |
Federal rules apply: a cash wage of $2.13 is allowed in 2026 for employees who regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips, as long as wages plus tips reach $7.25 an hour.
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.
Overtime and salaried staff
| Weekly overtime | No state rule; employers covered by federal law pay 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours a week14 |
|---|---|
| Daily overtime | None in state law |
| Exempt salary | The federal level, $684 a week ($35,568 a year) |
Alabama has no general state overtime law. Employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act must pay time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek. Alabama also has no state minimum wage law.
Overtime at the minimum wage of $7.25 is $10.875 an hour. Salaried managers, administrators and professionals are exempt from overtime only if they meet the duties tests and are paid at least the exempt salary. See overtime rules in every state or calculate pay with overtime.
How the rate changes
There is no state adjustment. The rate changes only when Congress changes the federal minimum wage.
Indexed to inflation: no. No state minimum wage law; the federal rate applies and changes only if Congress acts.1
Rate history
| Effective | Status | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| July 24, 2009 | In effect now | $7.251 |
Who is covered
Only employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the federal minimum, under the federal exemptions. Workers whose jobs fall outside that law have no minimum wage protection under Alabama law.
- Birmingham adopted a local minimum wage in 2015 ($8.50 in 2016, $10.10 in 2017), but the 2016 Alabama Uniform Minimum Wage and Right-to-Work Act nullified it before it took effect.
- A federal lawsuit challenging the 2016 act, Lewis v. Governor of Alabama, ended when the full Eleventh Circuit ruled in 2019 that the plaintiffs lacked standing.
- Minimum wage complaints are handled by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, because Alabama has no state wage-and-hour enforcement agency.
Cities and counties
Cities and counties may not set a minimum wage. The Alabama Uniform Minimum Wage and Right-to-Work Act of 2016 (Ala. Code 25-7-41) bars local governments from requiring wages or benefits beyond state or federal law and voids any such local measure.
Neighboring states
If you live near a state line, the rate that applies is the one where you do the work, not where you live or where the employer is based.
| State | Per hour now |
|---|---|
| Florida | $15.00 |
| Georgia | $7.25 |
| Mississippi | $7.25 |
| Tennessee | $7.25 |
Compare every state on the ranked list and map.
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 | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division |
|---|---|
| Phone | 1-866-487-9243 |
| The law | Code of Alabama 25-7-41 (Alabama Uniform Minimum Wage and Right-to-Work Act); 29 U.S.C. 206 (FLSA minimum wage) |
Sources
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- 4 U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Overtime Pay Checked Oct 28, 2026 · Back to text ↑
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