Maryland minimum wage 2026

What to know about the Maryland minimum wage

Maryland's path to its 2024 rate ran through two schedules. Under Labor and Employment Article 3-413, employers with 15 or more employees paid $12.50 in 2022 and $13.25 in 2023, while smaller employers trailed behind at $12.80 in 2023. Both schedules met at $15.00 on January 1, 2024, and the statute stops there.⁠²

Some workers are paid differently. Employers may pay workers under 18 at least 85% of the state rate, and tipped employees who regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips can be paid $3.63 in cash in 2026.⁠¹ Restaurants must give tipped workers a written or electronic wage statement each pay period showing their effective hourly rate. The law lists 14 exemptions, among them close family members, agricultural workers, executive, administrative and professional employees, volunteers, outside salespeople, and certain food establishments grossing less than $400,000 a year.⁠¹

Where a worker is matters as much as who the worker is. The Maryland Department of Labor lists county rates that exceed the state's: as of July 1, 2026, Howard County requires $16.00, Montgomery County $18.00, $16.50 or $15.95 depending on employer size, and Prince George's County $15.30.⁠¹ Unpaid-wage questions go to the department's Division of Labor and Industry, which also publishes the required posters in English and Spanish.

All 2026 rates

Until the end of 2023, employers with 14 or fewer employees followed a slower schedule, paying $12.80 in 2023 while larger employers paid $13.25. Since January 1, 2024 one rate applies to all employers. Workers under 18 may be paid 85% of the state minimum.

Tipped employees

Employees who regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips may be paid a cash wage of $3.63 in 2026. Employees must be told about the tip credit, keep all their tips (pooling is allowed), and receive wage statements showing their effective hourly rate.

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

Time and a half after 40 hours a week (Labor and Employment 3-415, 3-420). Bowling establishments and certain non-hospital residential care institutions may pay overtime after 48 hours, and some agricultural employers after 60 hours.

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 not indexed to inflation and the law schedules nothing after January 1, 2024, so it changes only if the General Assembly passes a new law.

Indexed to inflation: no. Not indexed; the rate changes only by legislation.⁠⁴

Rate history

Who is covered

Labor and Employment Article 3-403 lists the exemptions from the state minimum. Employers must pay the higher of the state and federal rates, and the county rate where a county sets a higher one.

• Montgomery County adjusts its rates each July 1 for inflation, with different rates by employer size; Howard County and Prince George's County each have a single county rate.

Local rates in Maryland

No Maryland law stops counties from setting a higher minimum wage, and Montgomery, Howard and Prince George's counties have done so. Labor and Employment Article 3-413 requires employers to pay the higher applicable rate.

Places with their own rate

• Montgomery County$18.00
• Howard County$16.00
• Prince George's County$15.30

Each local page lists that place's tiers, next change and who is covered.

Largest cities in Maryland

• BaltimoreState $15.00

Cities of Maryland among the 50 most populous in the US (U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates for July 1, 2025). “Local” marks a city with its own minimum wage, “Regional” a state wage region, and “Federal rate” a city where the federal $7.25 is the rate that applies.

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.

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.

Sources

1. 1
   Maryland Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Law - Minimum Wage Facts Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Maryland General Assembly, Statutes Text: Labor and Employment 3-413 Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Maryland General Assembly, Statutes Text: Labor and Employment 3-419 Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, State Minimum Wage Laws (updated July 1, 2026) Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (effective July 1, 2026) Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Changes in Basic Minimum Wages in Non-Farm Employment Under State Law: Selected Years 1968 to 2024 Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Maryland General Assembly, Maryland Code, Labor and Employment 3-420 Checked Oct 28, 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Maryland General Assembly, Maryland Code, Labor and Employment 3-415 Checked Oct 28, 2026 · Back to text ↑

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