New York minimum wage 2026
The minimum wage in New York is $17.00 an hour in 2026 (New York City, Long Island and Westchester). New York sets two general rates by region: one for New York City, Long Island and Westchester, and a lower one for the rest of the state. From 2027 both are tied to Northeast inflation, but for January 1, 2027 an economic off-ramp in Labor Law 652 kept them at $17.00 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $16.00 elsewhere; only home care aides get a raise.
Contents12 sections
At a glance
| Minimum wage now | $17.00 an hour (New York City, Long Island and Westchester), since January 1, 202634 |
|---|---|
| Next change | Stays at $17.00 on January 1, 2027 (announced)12 |
| Tipped employees | $11.35 cash wage, tip credit up to $5.65871 |
| Overtime | 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours a week109 · details |
| Full-time pay | $680 a week, $35,360 a year at 40 hours a week before taxes · calculate for your hours |
| Enforced by | New York State Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards, 1-888-469-7365 |
What to know about the New York minimum wage
New York reached $15.00 between 2018 and 2024, in stages that depended on place and employer size. Large New York City employers got there on December 31, 2018 and small ones a year later; Long Island and Westchester followed on December 31, 2021, while the rest of the state reached $15.00 only on January 1, 2024.3 Fixed steps in Labor Law 652 then raised both rates each January 1 from 2024 to 2026, to $17.00 downstate and $16.00 upstate.4
From 2027 the law calls for yearly inflation increases, but with off-ramps. No raise happens if prices fall, if state unemployment rises half a point above its recent low, or if July employment is below both April and January. One of those conditions was met for 2027, so the general rates stay at $17.00 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $16.00 elsewhere, and tipped cash wages stay the same.1 Home care aides are the exception: their separate rate under Public Health Law 3614-f still rises on January 1, 2027, to $20.00 downstate and $19.00 elsewhere.6
Tipped work follows the Hospitality Industry Wage Order, which allows a tip credit only in hospitality. Food service workers and service employees have different cash wages, and the credit is lost on any day when more than 2 hours or 20% of the shift is spent on untipped work.8 The Department of Labor helps workers recover unpaid wages without going to court; complaints go to 888-525-2267.1
All 2026 rates
Where the work is done decides the rate: since January 1, 2026, $17.00 an hour in the five boroughs, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester, and $16.00 everywhere else. Home care aides have a higher rate set under Public Health Law 3614-f. Tipped food service workers and service employees in the hospitality industry may be paid lower cash wages.
| Rate | Applies to | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| New York City, Long Island and Westchester | Work in the five boroughs and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties | $17.0034 |
| Rest of New York State | Work anywhere else in the state | $16.0034 |
| Home care aides, NYC, Long Island and Westchester | Home care aides under Public Health Law section 3614-f, from January 1, 2026; $20.00 from January 1, 2027. | $19.65561 |
| Home care aides, rest of state | Home care aides under Public Health Law section 3614-f, from January 1, 2026; $19.00 from January 1, 2027. | $18.65561 |
| Tipped food service workers, NYC, Long Island and Westchester | Hospitality industry cash wage; tip credit in 2026 up to $5.65. | $11.358 |
| Tipped food service workers, rest of state | Hospitality industry cash wage; tip credit in 2026 up to $5.30. | $10.708 |
| Tipped service employees, NYC, Long Island and Westchester | Hospitality industry cash wage; tip credit in 2026 up to $2.85, only in weeks when tips meet the minimum average. | $14.158 |
| Tipped service employees, rest of state | Hospitality industry cash wage; tip credit in 2026 up to $2.70, only in weeks when tips meet the minimum average. | $13.308 |
Tipped employees
| Tip credit | Allowed |
|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $11.35 an hour871 |
| Maximum tip credit | $5.65 an hour |
A tip credit is allowed only in the hospitality industry. In 2026 food service workers may be paid $11.35 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $10.70 elsewhere, and service employees $14.15 and $13.30, with the credit lost on days with more than 2 hours or 20% of the shift in untipped work.
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 rate109 |
|---|---|
| Daily overtime | None in state law |
| Exempt salary | $1,275 a week ($66,300 a year)91 |
Time and a half after 40 hours a week, or after 44 hours for residential (live-in) employees. Employees also get one extra hour at the minimum wage when their spread of hours exceeds 10 or they work a split shift.
Applies to executive and administrative employees only; professionals follow the federal level. The threshold rises with the minimum wage, which does not increase on January 1, 2027 because an off-ramp was triggered.
Overtime at the minimum wage of $17.00 is $25.50 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
From 2027, rates rise each January 1 by the three-year average change in the Northeast Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), rounded to the nearest 5 cents, and the Commissioner of Labor must publish them by October 1. No increase occurs when an off-ramp applies: falling prices, a rise of half a point or more in the state unemployment rate, or a drop in July employment. An off-ramp cannot apply more than two years in a row.
Indexed to inflation: yes. From 2027 adjusted each January 1 for inflation unless an off-ramp applies; one applied for 2027, so rates stay the same.1
Rate history
| Effective | Status | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2027 | Announced Unchanged: off-ramp | $17.0012 |
| January 1, 2026 | In effect now | $17.0034 |
| January 1, 2025 | $16.5034 | |
| January 1, 2024 | $16.0034 | |
| December 31, 2018 | New York City, large employers | $15.003 |
Who is covered
Nearly all employers in New York must pay the regional rate. Industry wage orders for hospitality, building service, farm work, nonprofits and others use the same general rate, and fast food workers receive the same regional rates. There is no lower rate for youth or trainees.
- New York City has had one rate for all employers since its small-employer schedule reached $15.00 on December 31, 2019; Long Island and Westchester reached $15.00 on December 31, 2021.
- In 2026 service employees lose the tip credit in weeks when tips average less than $3.65 an hour downstate or $3.40 elsewhere in restaurants and all-year hotels ($9.55 and $9.00 in resort hotels).
- Overtime for tipped hospitality workers is one and a half times the minimum wage, minus the tip credit.
- New York City sets separate pay rules for app-based restaurant delivery workers and a living wage for some city-funded employers; neither is a general minimum wage.
Local rates in New York
Cities and counties cannot set their own general minimum wage. Labor Law 652 sets the rate for the whole state, and local laws may not conflict with general state laws.
Places with their own rate
- New York City$17.00
Each local page lists that place's tiers, next change and who is covered.
Largest cities in New York
- New YorkRegional $17.00
Cities of New York 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 |
|---|---|
| Connecticut | $16.94 |
| New Jersey | $15.92 |
| Massachusetts | $15.00 |
| Vermont | $14.42 |
| 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 | New York State Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards |
|---|---|
| Phone | 1-888-469-7365 |
| The law | N.Y. Labor Law 652 (minimum wage rates, indexing and off-ramps); N.Y. Public Health Law 3614-f (home care aide minimum wage); 12 NYCRR Part 146 (Hospitality Industry Wage Order) |
| Federal | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 |
Sources
- 1 New York State Department of Labor, Minimum Wage (rates by region, 2027) Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
- 2 Office of the Governor of New York, New York State Minimum Wage for 2027 Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
- 3
- 4 New York State Senate (official laws site), New York Labor Law Section 652 Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
- 5
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- 7 New York State Department of Labor, Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
- 8
- 9 New York State Department of Labor, Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
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