Massachusetts minimum wage 2026
The minimum wage in Massachusetts is $15.00 an hour in 2026. Massachusetts arrived at $15.00 on January 1, 2023, the last step of a 2018 law, Chapter 121 of the Acts of 2018, and has no automatic increases after it. The law keeps the state rate at least 50 cents above the federal minimum, and tipped service workers have had a separate service rate of $6.75 since January 1, 2023.
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At a glance
| Minimum wage now | $15.00 an hour, since January 1, 20233165 |
|---|---|
| Next change | No increase is scheduled. |
| Tipped employees | $6.75 cash wage, tip credit up to $8.25256 |
| Overtime | 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours a week1 · details |
| Full-time pay | $600 a week, $31,200 a year at 40 hours a week before taxes · calculate for your hours |
| Enforced by | Massachusetts Attorney General, Fair Labor Division, 617-727-3465 |
What to know about the Massachusetts minimum wage
Massachusetts's $15.00 rate came from the 2018 law often called the grand bargain, Chapter 121 of the Acts of 2018, which raised the wage from $12.00 in 2019 by 75 cents a year to $15.00 on January 1, 2023 and raised the tipped service rate from $4.35 to $6.75 on the same dates.6 The same law created the state's paid family leave program. It set no increases after 2023, so the wage has not changed since.
Tipped workers have been the focus of the debate since then. In 2024 voters were asked, through Question 5, whether to phase out the lower service rate and require the full minimum wage for tipped staff; the measure won only 35.9% of the vote, so the $6.75 service rate remains.8 Under the long-standing rule that remains in place, a service employee who regularly receives more than $20 a month in tips can be paid the service rate, and the employer must check at the end of each shift that wages plus tips reached the full minimum.5
One automatic rule remains: state law requires the Massachusetts minimum to stay at least 50 cents above the federal rate, so a federal increase would pull the state rate up. Wage complaints are handled by the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division, while the Department of Labor Standards runs the minimum wage program.7
All 2026 rates
Tipped employees
| Tip credit | Allowed |
|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $6.75 an hour256 |
| Maximum tip credit | $8.25 an hour |
Service employees who regularly receive more than $20 a month in tips may be paid $6.75 an hour in 2026, provided wages plus tips reach the full minimum; the employer must check this at the end of each shift.
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 | After 40 hours in a workweek, at 1.5 times the regular rate1 |
|---|---|
| Daily overtime | None in state law |
| Exempt salary | The federal level, $684 a week ($35,568 a year) |
Time and a half after 40 hours a week (G.L. c. 151, section 1A), subject to the exempt occupations and industries listed in the statute.
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 2018 law raised the wage in yearly steps to $15.00 on January 1, 2023 and scheduled nothing after. A new increase needs legislation or a ballot measure; the only automatic rule is that the state rate must stay at least 50 cents above the federal rate.
Indexed to inflation: no. Not indexed; must stay at least 50 cents above the federal rate.1
Rate history
Who is covered
The state rate covers most employees in Massachusetts. Most agricultural workers have a separate rate, $8.00 an hour in 2026, under M.G.L. c. 151, section 2A.
- Overtime is paid at one and a half times the regular rate after 40 hours a week.
Cities and counties
No Massachusetts city or town has its own minimum wage, and no state statute expressly addresses local minimum wages.
Largest cities in Massachusetts
- BostonState $15.00
Cities of Massachusetts 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.
| State | Per hour now |
|---|---|
| New York | $16.00 to $17.00 |
| Connecticut | $16.94 |
| Rhode Island | $16.00 |
| Vermont | $14.42 |
| New Hampshire | $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 | Massachusetts Attorney General, Fair Labor Division |
|---|---|
| Phone | 617-727-3465 |
| The law | M.G.L. c. 151, 1 (Minimum wage); M.G.L. c. 151, 7 (Service rate); 454 CMR 27.00 (Minimum wage regulations) |
| Federal | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 |
Sources
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- 4 Ballotpedia News, Massachusetts voters will decide on nine ballot measures in 2026 (cross-check only, not an official source) Secondary reference · Checked Oct 9, 2026
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- 7 Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, File a workplace complaint Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
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