2018 Federal and State Minimum Wage Rates

Employment Law & HR Topics, State & Federal Employment Law Updates, Wage & Hour / By
What is the minimum wage for 2018? The minimum wage rate is the lowest hourly pay that can be awarded to workers, also known as a pay floor. Under the FLSA, non-exempt employees must be paid the minimum wage or higher. The following information includes current state and federal minimum wage rates, exceptions, and scheduled increases.

Federal Minimum Wage

The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and has not increased since July 2009. However, some states, cities and counties have a higher minimum wage rate. When the state, city or county minimum wage rate is higher than the federal rate, employers are required to pay workers the higher amount. On September 15, 2017, the Department of Labor published a notice in the Federal Register to announce that, beginning January 1, 2018, the Executive Order 13658 minimum wage rate is increased to $10.35 per hour (82 FR 43408). This Executive Order minimum wage rate generally must be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with covered federal contracts. Additionally, beginning January 1, 2018, tipped employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts generally must be paid a minimum cash wage of $7.25 per hour.

Exemptions from Minimum Wage

Please note that some employees are exempt from minimum wage requirements, such as those who are not protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act, tipped employees such as restaurant servers, for example, and others can be paid at a lower rate than minimum wage.

State Minimum Wage Rates

Data from the Economic Policy Institute indicates that 29 states and D.C. have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage including Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, Washington D.C., and West Virginia. MINIMUM WAGE RATES BY STATE:  The data is based on information provided by the Economic Policy Institute, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Labor Law Center.
  • Alabama: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
  • Alaska: $9.84 (Annual indexing has begun)
  • Arizona: $10.50 (Raised to $12.00 through Indexed Annual Increases between 1/1/2019 to 1/1/2020)
  • Arkansas: $8.50
  • California: $11.00 ($11.00 to $15.00 in $1.00 Indexed Annual Increases between 1/1/2019 to 1/1/2022). $10.50 effective January 1st, 2018 for employers with 25 employees or less. 
  • Colorado: $10.20* ($10.20 to $12.00 in $0.90 Indexed Annual Increases between 1/1/2019 and 1/1/2020)
  • Connecticut: $10.10
  • Delaware: $8.25
  • District of Columbia: $12.50 (Increases to $15 with Indexed Annual Increases between 7/1/2018 and 7/1/2020)
  • Florida: $8.25*
  • Georgia: $5.15 if not covered by Federal Regulations otherwise $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage)
  • Guam: $8.25
  • Hawaii: $10.10 
  • Idaho: $7.25
  • Illinois: $8.25
  • Indiana: $7.25
  • Iowa: $7.25
  • Kansas: $7.25
  • Kentucky: $7.25
  • Louisiana: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
  • Maine: $10.00  (11.00 to $12.00 in $1.00 annual Increases between 1/1/2019 to 1/1/2020) (Indexed annual increases will begin on 1/1/2021)
  • Maryland: $10.10 
  • Massachusetts: $11.00  ($3.75 for tipped employees)
  • Michigan: $9.25 (Indexed annual increases will begin on 4/1/2019)
  • Minnesota:  Large employers are required to pay workers $9.65/hour and small employers (less than 500k in annual sales) $7.87 (Indexed Annual increases will begin on 1/1/2018)
  • Mississippi: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
  • Missouri: $7.85
  • Montana: $8.30 ($4.00 for businesses with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less) (Annual indexing has begun)
  • Nebraska: $9.00 
  • Nevada: $8.25 Nevada’s minimum wage is set at $1.00 above the federal minimum wage for firms not providing health insurance.
  • New Hampshire: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage)
  • New Jersey: $8.60 (Annual indexing has begun)
  • New Mexico: $7.50
  • New York: $10.40 ($0.70 Indexed Annual Increases from 12/31/2018 to $12.50 by 12/31/2020. Starting 1/1/2021, the rate will be adjusted annually for inflation until it reaches $15 an hour) – More information on New York minimum wage increases.)
  • North Carolina: $7.25
  • North Dakota: $7.25
  • Ohio: $8.30 ($7:25 for employers with gross sales of $283,000 or less) (Annual indexing has begun)
  • Oklahoma: $7.25
  • Oregon: $10.75  (From $10.75 to $13.50 from 7/1/2019 to 7/1/2022)
  • Pennsylvania: $7.25
  • Puerto Rico: $7.25
  • Rhode Island: $10.10
  • South Carolina: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
  • South Dakota: $8.65  (Annual indexing has begun)
  • Tennessee: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
  • Texas: $7.25
  • Utah: $7.25
  • Vermont: $10.50, Annual indexing begins 1/1/2019
  • Virgin Islands: $9.50, $10.50, 6/1/18
  • Virginia: $7.25
  • Washington: $11.50 (From $12.50 to $13.50 from 1/1/2019-1/1/2020)
  •  West Virginia: $8.75
  • Wisconsin: $7.25
  • Wyoming: $7.25, $5.15 if federal regulations do not apply
Higher Minimum Wages Exist in Many Cities and Counties  According to the Economic Policy Institute, 40 localities have adopted minimum wages above their state minimum wage: Albuquerque, New Mexico; Berkeley, California; Bernalillo County, New Mexico; Birmingham, Alabama; Chicago, Illinois; Cook County, Illinois; Cupertino, California; El Cerrito, California; Emeryville, California; Flagstaff, Arizona; Las Cruces, New Mexico; Los Altos, California; Los Angeles County, California; Los Angeles, California; Malibu, California; Milpitas, California; Montgomery County, Maryland; Mountain View, California; Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties, New York; New York City, New York; Oakland, California; Palo Alto, California; Pasadena, California; Portland Urban Growth Boundary, Oregon; Portland, Maine; Prince George’s County, Maryland; Richmond, California; San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; San Jose, California; San Leandro, California; San Mateo, California; Santa Clara, California; Santa Fe City, New Mexico; Santa Fe County, New Mexico; Santa Monica, California; SeaTac, Washington; Seattle, Washington; Sunnyvale, California; and Tacoma, Washington Minimum Wage Rates for 2017 Listed by State The following is a list of minimum wage rates for each state for 2017. The list also includes scheduled increases for future years. The data is based  on information provided by the Economic Policy Institute and the National Conference of State Legislatures.
  • Alabama: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
  • Alaska: $9.80 (Annual indexing has begun)
  • Arizona: $10.00 (Raised to $12.00 through Indexed Annual Increases between 1/1/2018 to 1/1/2020)
  • Arkansas: $8.50
  • California: $10.50  ($11.00 to $15.00 in $1.00 Indexed Annual Increases between 1/1/2018 to 1/1/2022)
  • Colorado: $9.30* ($9.30 to $12.00 in $0.90 Indexed Annual Increases between 1/1/2018 and 1/1/2020)
  • Connecticut: $10.10
  • Delaware: $8.25
  • District of Columbia: $12.50 (Increases to $15 with Indexed Annual Increases between 7/1/2018 and 7/1/2020)
  • Florida: $8.10*
  • Georgia: $5.15 if not covered by Federal Regulations otherwise $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage)
  • Guam: $8.25
  • Hawaii: $9.25, $10.10 by 1/1/2018
  • Idaho: $7.25
  • Illinois: $8.25 – Chicago $11.00 July 2017, $12.00 July 2018, $13.00 July 2019
  • Indiana: $7.25
  • Iowa: $7.25
  • Kansas: $7.25
  • Kentucky: $7.25
  • Louisiana: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
  • Maine: $9.00 ($10.00 to $12.00 in $1.00 annual Increases between 1/1/2018 to 1/1/2020) (Indexed annual increases will begin on 1/1/2021)
  • Maryland: $9.25,  Increases to $10.10 7/1/2018
  • Massachusetts: $11.00  ($3.75 for tipped employees), $16.50 per hour for working on a Sunday
  • Michigan: $8.90, $9.25 by 1/12018 (Indexed annual increases will begin on 4/1/2019)
  • Minnesota:  Large employers are required to pay workers $9.50/hour and small employers (less than 500k in annual sales) $7.75 (Indexed Annual increases will begin on 1/1/2018)
  • Mississippi: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
  • Missouri: $7.70
  • Montana: $8.15 ($4.00 for businesses with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less) (Annual indexing has begun)
  • Nebraska: $9.00 
  • Nevada: $8.25 Nevada’s minimum wage is set at $1.00 above the federal minimum wage for firms not providing health insurance. The minimum may be increased more than $1.00 above the federal minimum wage if cumulative inflation, as measured by the CPI-U, is larger than the percentage change in the federal minimum wage since December 31, 2004.
  • New Hampshire: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage)
  • New Jersey: $8.44 (Annual indexing has begun)
  • New Mexico: $7.50
  • New York: $9.70 ($10.40 by 12/31/2017 with $0.70 Indexed Annual Increases from 12/31/2017 to $12.50 by 12/31/2020. Starting 1/1/2021, the rate will be adjusted annually for inflation until it reaches $15 an hour) – More information on New York minimum wage increases.
  • North Carolina: $7.25
  • North Dakota: $7.25
  • Ohio: $8.15* ($7:25 for employers with gross sales of $283,000 or less) (Annual indexing has begun)
  • Oklahoma: $7.25
  • Oregon: $10.25  (From $10.75 to $13.50 from 7/1/2018 to 7/1/2022)
  • Pennsylvania: $7.25
  • Puerto Rico: $7.25
  • Rhode Island: $9.60
  • South Carolina: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
  • South Dakota: $8.65  (Annual indexing has begun)
  • Tennessee: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
  • Texas: $7.25
  • Utah: $7.25
  • Vermont: $10, $10.50 by 1/1/2018, Annual indexing begins 1/1/2019
  • Virgin Islands: $9.50($4.30 for employers grossing $150,000 or less), $10.50, 6/1/18
  • Virginia: $7.25
  • Washington: $11.00 (From $11.50 to $13.50 from 1/1/2018- 1/1/2020)
  • West Virginia: $8.75
  • Wisconsin: $7.25
  • Wyoming: $7.25, $5.15 if federal regulations do not apply
Please Note: Some states as noted adjust their rate annually based on the cost of living. In those cases, the figure listed is an estimate pending that adjustment. In addition, some city/county/state government employers, and companies have higher minimum wage rates than the state minimum. In some states, a separate minimum wage has been set for small employers. Minimum wage rates may change during the calendar year. Check with your state department of labor for rates and wages specific to your location.