Delaware minimum wage 2026
The minimum wage in Delaware is $15.00 an hour in 2026. Delaware reached $15.00 on January 1, 2025, the final step of a schedule passed in 2021, and has no inflation index to move it further. Tipped employees can be paid a cash wage of $2.23 an hour in 2026.
Contents11 sections
At a glance
| Minimum wage now | $15.00 an hour, since January 1, 2025314 |
|---|---|
| Next change | Delaware law sets no increase after January 1, 2025. |
| Tipped employees | $2.23 cash wage, tip credit up to $12.77315 |
| Overtime | 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours a week (federal law only)46 · details |
| Full-time pay | $600 a week, $31,200 a year at 40 hours a week before taxes · calculate for your hours |
| Enforced by | Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Industrial Affairs, Office of Labor Law Enforcement, 302-761-8200 |
What to know about the Delaware minimum wage
Delaware got to $15.00 through Senate Bill 15, passed in 2021, which wrote four January raises directly into 19 Del. C. 902: $10.50 in 2022, $11.75 in 2023, $13.25 in 2024 and $15.00 on January 1, 2025.3 That was the last step in the law. Delaware has no inflation index, so the 2025 rate stays in place until the General Assembly passes another increase, with one exception: if the federal minimum ever rose above it, the state rate would match the federal one automatically.3
The tipped wage sits far below that figure. In 2026 employers may pay $2.23 an hour in cash to employees who regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips, so tips can cover up to $12.77 of each hour.3 Delaware law treats tips as the property of the server: pooling among direct service staff is allowed when the employees choose it, but an employer cannot require it.3
The definition of an employee leaves out farm work, domestic service in private homes, salaried executive, administrative and professional staff, outside commission salespeople, and several smaller groups, from junior counselors under 18 at nonprofit summer camps to minor league baseball players covered by a collective bargaining agreement.3
The Office of Labor Law Enforcement in the Department of Labor's Division of Industrial Affairs takes wage claims on its own form, through offices in Newark, Wilmington, Dover and Georgetown, and employers must display the state Labor Law Poster.1
Tipped employees
| Tip credit | Allowed |
|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.23 an hour315 |
| Maximum tip credit | $12.77 an hour |
Employees who regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips may be paid a $2.23 cash wage in 2026. Tips belong to the employee; tip pooling among direct service staff must be voluntary (19 Del. C. 902).
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 week46 |
|---|---|
| Daily overtime | None in state law |
| Exempt salary | The federal level, $684 a week ($35,568 a year) |
Delaware 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.
Overtime at the minimum wage of $15.00 is $22.50 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
The rate is fixed in statute with no automatic indexing. It rises only through new legislation, or automatically to match the federal minimum if that ever exceeds the state rate (19 Del. C. 902(a)).
Indexed to inflation: no. Fixed in statute with no indexing; follows the federal rate if that is ever higher.4
Rate history
Who is covered
All employers are covered. Agricultural workers, domestic workers in private homes, executive, administrative and professional staff, outside commission salespeople, federal employees, nonprofit volunteers and a few other groups are excluded from the definition of employee (19 Del. C. 901(3)).
- Wage questions can be emailed to [email protected].
Cities and counties
No Delaware statute addresses local minimum wages, and no city or county has adopted one.
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 |
|---|---|
| New Jersey | $15.92 |
| Maryland | $15.00 |
| Pennsylvania | $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 | Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Industrial Affairs, Office of Labor Law Enforcement |
|---|---|
| Phone | 302-761-8200 |
| The law | 19 Del. C. 902 (minimum wage rate) |
| Federal | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 |
Sources
- 1 Delaware Department of Labor, Wage & Hour (Division of Industrial Affairs) Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
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- 6 U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Overtime Pay Checked Oct 28, 2026 · Back to text ↑
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