Nevada minimum wage 2026
The minimum wage in Nevada is $12.00 an hour in 2026. Nevada sets its minimum wage in the state constitution, and since July 1, 2024 there is a single $12.00 rate whether or not the employer offers health benefits. Nevada changes its wage on July 1 rather than January 1, allows no tip credit, and pays daily overtime to lower-wage workers.
Contents12 sections
At a glance
| Minimum wage now | $12.00 an hour, since July 1, 2024215 |
|---|---|
| Next change | Nothing is scheduled; a change would take new legislation or a higher federal rate. |
| Tipped employees | $12.00, the full minimum wage before tips236 |
| Overtime | 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours a week; after 8 hours a day for some workers75 · details |
| Full-time pay | $480 a week, $24,960 a year at 40 hours a week before taxes · calculate for your hours |
| Enforced by | Nevada Department of Business and Industry, Office of the Labor Commissioner, (775) 684-1890 |
What to know about the Nevada minimum wage
Nevada is unusual in setting its minimum wage in the state constitution, in Article 15, section 16. Until mid-2024 the state had two rates: employers that offered qualifying health benefits could pay $1.00 less than those that did not, for example $10.25 instead of $11.25 from July 1, 2023.2 Ballot Question 2, a constitutional amendment the Legislature referred to voters in 2022, replaced both with a single $12.00 rate from July 1, 2024.
The $12.00 figure, in force since July 1, 2024, is not indexed. It rises only if the Legislature passes a higher rate or the federal minimum overtakes it, and the Labor Commissioner's annual bulletin, posted June 29, 2026, left it unchanged.1 Any change would follow Nevada's own calendar: rates have taken effect on July 1, not January 1.
Two Nevada rules set it apart from most states. Tips can never count toward the minimum wage, so restaurant and hotel staff receive the full minimum wage before tips, and employers may not keep any part of employees' tips, although employees may agree to pool them.3 And lower-paid workers earn daily overtime: anyone paid less than one and a half times the minimum wage receives time and a half after 8 hours in a workday, unless on an agreed schedule of four 10-hour days, in addition to overtime after 40 hours a week.3 The constitution excludes workers under 18, nonprofit after-school and summer jobs, and trainees for up to 90 days.
Rates and changes
Until June 30, 2024, employers that offered qualifying health benefits could pay $1.00 less, $10.25 in the final year. Ballot Question 2, approved in 2022, ended that lower tier.
Tipped employees
| Tip credit | Not allowed: tips are on top of the full minimum wage |
|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $12.00 an hour236 |
Tips may not be counted toward the minimum wage. Employers may not keep employees' tips, although employees may agree to pool them among themselves.
Overtime and salaried staff
| Weekly overtime | After 40 hours in a workweek, at 1.5 times the regular rate75 |
|---|---|
| Daily overtime | After 8 hours in a workdayOnly for employees paid less than 1.5 times the state minimum wage |
| Exempt salary | The federal level, $684 a week ($35,568 a year) |
Employees paid less than 1.5 times the state minimum wage ($18.00 an hour in 2026) get time and a half after 8 hours a workday or 40 hours a week; others after 40 hours a week (NRS 608.018). Agreed 4x10 schedules and businesses with gross sales under $250,000 a year are excepted.
Overtime at the minimum wage of $12.00 is $18.00 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 automatic increase. Article 15, section 16 of the Nevada Constitution fixes the rate; the Legislature may set a higher rate by law, and a higher federal rate would apply instead. The Labor Commissioner publishes a bulletin each summer, and the 2026 bulletin kept the rate at $12.00.
Indexed to inflation: no. Not indexed; there is no automatic annual adjustment.5
Rate history
Who is covered
The minimum wage covers all employees in Nevada unless exempted. The constitution excludes workers under 18, nonprofit employees in after-school or summer jobs, and trainees for up to 90 days. Independent contractors and some disability job and day training participants are also outside it (NRS 608.255).
- Employees earning less than one and a half times the minimum wage get time and a half after 8 hours in a workday, unless on an agreed four-day, ten-hour schedule, as well as after 40 hours a week (NRS 608.018).
- A version of NRS 608.250 taking effect January 1, 2028 extends the minimum wage to workers employed under federal special certificates for workers with disabilities.
Cities and counties
No Nevada statute expressly bars local minimum wages, but counties and cities have only the powers state law grants them, and none has adopted a general minimum wage.
Largest cities in Nevada
- Las VegasState $12.00
Cities of Nevada 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 |
|---|---|
| California | $16.90 |
| Oregon | $14.55 to $16.80 |
| Arizona | $15.15 |
| Idaho | $7.25 |
| Utah | $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 | Nevada Department of Business and Industry, Office of the Labor Commissioner |
|---|---|
| Phone | (775) 684-1890 |
| The law | Nevada Constitution, art. 15, sec. 16 (Payment of minimum compensation to employees); NRS 608.250 (Minimum wage); NRS 608.160 (Tips); NRS 608.018 (Overtime, including daily overtime) |
| Federal | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 |
Sources
- 1
- 2
- 3 Nevada Legislature, NRS Chapter 608 (archived copy captured 2026-10-06) Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
- 4 Nevada Legislature, NRS Chapter 244 (archived copy captured 2025-12-28) Checked Oct 9, 2026
- 5 U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, State Minimum Wage Laws Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
- 6
- 7 Nevada Legislature, NRS Chapter 608 Compensation, Wages and Hours (NRS 608.018) Checked Oct 28, 2026 · Back to text ↑
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