Minimum Wage by State (2026): All 50 States & Federal Rate
The federal minimum wage is still $7.25 an hour in 2026 — frozen since 2009 — but where you work changes everything: from $7.25 in 20 states to $17.95 in Washington, D.C. That's a $10.70 gap for the same hour of work, or about $22,000 a year full-time. Here's the minimum wage in all 50 states plus D.C., what it earns annually, and how far it really stretches. More in our Personal Finance Statistics Hub →
Minimum Wage by State — All 50 States + D.C.
Rates below are effective 2026 (January 1 unless a mid-year date is noted). "Annual" assumes full-time work — 40 hours a week, 52 weeks (2,080 hours). When a state rate tops the federal $7.25, the state rate applies; where a city rate is higher still, employers must pay the highest of the three.
| State | Min. Wage 2026 | Annual (Full-Time) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, D.C. | $17.95 | $37,336 | Highest; CPI-indexed |
| Washington | $17.13 | $35,630 | CPI-indexed |
| Connecticut | $16.94 | $35,235 | Raised Jan 1 |
| California | $16.90 | $35,152 | Fast food $20/hr |
| New York | $16.50 | $34,320 | NYC/LI/Westchester $17.00 |
| Hawaii | $16.00 | $33,280 | Reaches $18 by 2028 |
| Rhode Island | $16.00 | $33,280 | Raised Jan 1 |
| Oregon | $15.95 | $33,176 | Increase scheduled Jul 1 |
| New Jersey | $15.92 | $33,114 | CPI-indexed |
| Colorado | $15.16 | $31,533 | Local rates may be higher |
| Arizona | $15.15 | $31,512 | CPI-indexed |
| Maine | $15.10 | $31,408 | Raised Jan 1 |
| Massachusetts | $15.00 | $31,200 | At target |
| Illinois | $15.00 | $31,200 | At target |
| Maryland | $15.00 | $31,200 | At target |
| Missouri | $15.00 | $31,200 | Ballot-measure schedule |
| Nebraska | $15.00 | $31,200 | Ballot-measure schedule |
| Virginia | $15.00 | $31,200 | At target |
| Delaware | $15.00 | $31,200 | At target |
| Vermont | $14.42 | $29,994 | CPI-indexed |
| Florida | $14.00 | $29,120 | → $15.00 on Sep 30, 2026 |
| Alaska | $13.00 | $27,040 | → $14.00 on Jul 1, 2026 |
| Nevada | $12.00 | $24,960 | No tip credit |
| New Mexico | $12.00 | $24,960 | Raised Jan 1 |
| South Dakota | $11.85 | $24,648 | CPI-indexed |
| Minnesota | $11.41 | $23,733 | No tip credit |
| Ohio | $11.00 | $22,880 | CPI-indexed |
| Arkansas | $11.00 | $22,880 | Above federal floor |
| Montana | $10.85 | $22,568 | No tip credit |
| Michigan | $10.56 | $21,965 | Rising under state law |
| West Virginia | $10.00 | $20,800 | Above federal floor |
| Alabama | $7.25 | $15,080 | No state law (federal floor) |
| Georgia | $7.25 | $15,080 | State $5.15; FLSA overrides |
| Idaho | $7.25 | $15,080 | Federal floor |
| Indiana | $7.25 | $15,080 | Federal floor |
| Iowa | $7.25 | $15,080 | Federal floor |
| Kansas | $7.25 | $15,080 | Federal floor |
| Kentucky | $7.25 | $15,080 | Federal floor |
| Louisiana | $7.25 | $15,080 | No state law (federal floor) |
| Mississippi | $7.25 | $15,080 | No state law (federal floor) |
| New Hampshire | $7.25 | $15,080 | Federal floor |
| North Carolina | $7.25 | $15,080 | Federal floor |
| North Dakota | $7.25 | $15,080 | Federal floor |
| Oklahoma | $7.25 | $15,080 | Federal floor |
| Pennsylvania | $7.25 | $15,080 | Federal floor |
| South Carolina | $7.25 | $15,080 | No state law (federal floor) |
| Tennessee | $7.25 | $15,080 | No state law (federal floor) |
| Texas | $7.25 | $15,080 | Federal floor |
| Utah | $7.25 | $15,080 | Federal floor |
| Wisconsin | $7.25 | $15,080 | Federal floor |
| Wyoming | $7.25 | $15,080 | State $5.15; FLSA overrides |
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (2026 state minimum-wage rates), via AnnualPayCalculator. Rates effective Jan 1, 2026 unless a mid-year date is noted. Local city/county rates (e.g., Seattle $20.29, San Francisco $18.67) can exceed state rates. Always verify with your state labor department.
📌 Key Insight
The same 40-hour week earns wildly different pay depending on the state line. A full-time worker at $7.25 in Texas or Mississippi makes $15,080 a year; the same hours in D.C. earn $37,336 — a $22,256 difference for identical work. And because the federal floor hasn't moved since 2009, its real value has fallen roughly 50% to inflation: the 1968 minimum wage, adjusted, was worth about $14.50/hr in today's dollars — nearly double the current federal rate.
States That Raised Minimum Wage in 2026
Nineteen states increased their minimum wage on January 1, 2026, and several more have mid-year increases scheduled:
Tipped Minimum Wage
The federal tipped minimum is $2.13 an hour — as long as tips bring a worker's total to at least $7.25. If tips fall short, the employer must make up the difference. Eight states (Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and D.C.) ban the tip credit entirely, meaning tipped workers there earn the full state minimum before tips.
Minimum Wage vs. a Living Wage
Even the highest state minimums fall short of a living wage — the income needed to cover housing, food, transportation, and healthcare without assistance. The MIT Living Wage Calculator estimates a single adult needs roughly $17–$28 an hour depending on location. At $7.25, a full-time worker earns just above the poverty line for one person and falls below it with a single child. This gap is the core reason 30 states and D.C. now set their own higher minimums.
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$7.25 per hour, unchanged since July 2009 — the longest stretch without an increase in FLSA history. Full-time, that's about $15,080 a year. The federal tipped minimum is $2.13/hr, provided tips bring total pay to at least $7.25.
Washington, D.C. at $17.95/hr, followed by Washington State ($17.13), Connecticut ($16.94), California ($16.90), and New York ($16.50 statewide). Seattle's $20.29 for large employers is the highest city rate in the country.
Twenty states use the $7.25 federal floor: Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Five of them have no state law at all and default to federal.
At $7.25 full-time (40 hrs × 52 weeks), $15,080 before taxes. At $15.00 it's $31,200; at D.C.'s $17.95, about $37,336. After FICA and minimal federal tax, take-home at $7.25 is roughly $13,500–$14,000.
Rarely. The MIT Living Wage Calculator estimates a single adult needs about $17–$28/hr depending on location. Even the highest state minimums trail local living-wage estimates once housing is included, and $7.25 falls short everywhere.