State details and scheduled changes
| State | Now | Next change | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $7.25/hr | None announced | No state minimum wage law; the federal $7.25 applies to covered employers. |
| Alaska | $14.00/hr | $15.00/hr on July 1, 2027 | Schedule set by 2024 Ballot Measure 1. |
| Arizona | $15.15/hr | None announced | Indexed to inflation each January 1; the 2027 rate was not officially published when checked. Flagstaff and Tucson set higher rates. |
| Arkansas | $11.00/hr | None announced | Employers of 4 or more. |
| California | $16.90/hr | $17.40/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | Fast-food, health care and many cities set higher rates. |
| Colorado | $15.16/hr | $15.71/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | Denver and some other localities set higher rates. |
| Connecticut | $16.94/hr | $17.48/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | Indexed to the Employment Cost Index. |
| Delaware | $15.00/hr | None announced | |
| Florida | $15.00/hr | None announced | Holds through 2027; inflation adjustments begin January 1, 2028. DOL’s table still showed $14.00 when checked. |
| Georgia | $7.25/hr | None announced | State rate of $5.15 (employers of 6 or more); employers covered by federal law must pay $7.25. |
| Hawaii | $16.00/hr | $18.00/hr on Jan. 1, 2028 | |
| Idaho | $7.25/hr | None announced | |
| Illinois | $15.00/hr | None announced | Employers of 4 or more; Chicago and Cook County set higher rates. |
| Indiana | $7.25/hr | None announced | |
| Iowa | $7.25/hr | None announced | |
| Kansas | $7.25/hr | None announced | |
| Kentucky | $7.25/hr | None announced | |
| Louisiana | $7.25/hr | None announced | No state minimum wage law; the federal $7.25 applies to covered employers. |
| Maine | $15.10/hr | $15.70/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | Indexed to inflation; Portland sets a higher rate. |
| Maryland | $15.00/hr | None announced | Some counties set higher rates. |
| Massachusetts | $15.00/hr | None announced | |
| Michigan | $13.73/hr | $15.00/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | Employers of 2 or more. |
| Minnesota | $11.41/hr | $11.87/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | One rate for all employers; Minneapolis and St. Paul set higher rates. |
| Mississippi | $7.25/hr | None announced | No state minimum wage law; the federal $7.25 applies to covered employers. |
| Missouri | $15.00/hr | None announced | Annual inflation indexing was repealed in 2025. |
| Montana | $10.85/hr | $11.20/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | $4.00 for small businesses not covered by federal law. |
| Nebraska | $15.00/hr | $15.26/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | Employers of 4 or more; a youth rate applies to ages 14–15. |
| Nevada | $12.00/hr | None announced | |
| New Hampshire | $7.25/hr | None announced | |
| New Jersey | $15.92/hr | $16.48/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | Lower rates for small and seasonal employers and farms. |
| New Mexico | $12.00/hr | None announced | Some cities set higher rates. |
| New York | $16.00/hr | None announced | $17.00 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester. No inflation increase on January 1, 2027. |
| North Carolina | $7.25/hr | None announced | |
| North Dakota | $7.25/hr | None announced | |
| Ohio | $11.00/hr | $11.40/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | $7.25 for smaller employers below a sales threshold. |
| Oklahoma | $7.25/hr | None announced | |
| Oregon | $15.55/hr | None announced | Standard rate; $16.80 in the Portland metro area and $14.55 in nonurban counties. Adjusted each July 1. |
| Pennsylvania | $7.25/hr | None announced | |
| Rhode Island | $16.00/hr | $17.00/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | |
| South Carolina | $7.25/hr | None announced | No state minimum wage law; the federal $7.25 applies to covered employers. |
| South Dakota | $11.85/hr | $12.30/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | |
| Tennessee | $7.25/hr | None announced | No state minimum wage law; the federal $7.25 applies to covered employers. |
| Texas | $7.25/hr | None announced | Adopts the federal rate. |
| Utah | $7.25/hr | None announced | |
| Vermont | $14.42/hr | None announced | Indexed to inflation each January 1; the 2027 rate was not officially published when checked. |
| Virginia | $12.77/hr | $13.75/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | Scheduled to reach $15.00 on January 1, 2028. |
| Washington | $17.13/hr | $17.73/hr on Jan. 1, 2027 | Seattle and some other cities set higher rates. |
| West Virginia | $8.75/hr | None announced | Employers of 6 or more at one location. |
| Wisconsin | $7.25/hr | None announced | |
| Wyoming | $7.25/hr | None announced | State rate of $5.15; employers covered by federal law must pay $7.25. |
Common questions
Which state has the highest minimum wage?
Washington, at $17.13/hr on October 23, 2026. Some cities, such as Seattle and Denver, set higher local minimums.
How many states use the federal minimum wage?
20 states effectively use the federal minimum of $7.25/hr: some match it, some set a lower state rate that federal law overrides for most workers, and some have no minimum wage law.
When do minimum wages change?
Most increases take effect on January 1. Alaska, Oregon and Washington, D.C., adjust on July 1, and Florida’s latest increase took effect on September 30. The federal minimum has been $7.25 an hour since July 24, 2009.
What this ranking measures
The basic hourly minimum wage in effect on October 23, 2026, for most adult, non-tipped workers: the state rate, or the federal $7.25 where the state has no minimum wage or a lower one.
Cities and counties may set higher rates, and some states set lower rates for small employers, young workers or tipped workers. The notes in the table give the main exceptions.
The size of the gap
The difference between the highest and lowest state estimates is $9.88/hr. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, unchanged since July 24, 2009.
How much should you read into a rank?
These are legal rates, not estimates, so no margin of error applies. Every state whose rate changed in 2026 was checked against its own labor department; where DOL’s table lagged behind state law (Florida), the state source is used. “Not published” means uncertainty is not quantified here, not that the estimates are exact.
Ranks use the full precision of the source file, so only truly equal values share a rank (1, 2, 2, 4).
Keep exploring
Explore the same states in a side-by-side comparison, or combine this measure with others in the custom ranking tool.
Source and method
- Producer
- U.S. Department of Labor; state labor departments
- Product / file
- State minimum wage laws · State minimum wage laws, compiled October 23, 2026
- Period
- October 23, 2026
- Unit
- U.S. dollars per hour
- Calculation
- Higher of the state basic minimum rate and the federal $7.25, in effect on October 23, 2026. Each state rate is checked against the archived DOL table during ingestion; differences are allowed only where a state source supersedes DOL. Rank = 1 + number of eligible jurisdictions with a higher value.
- Coverage
- The 50 states are ranked. Washington, D.C., can be added with the toggle above the table; Puerto Rico is shown for reference only, where the source covers it.
- Cadence
- Changes by law; most increases take effect on January 1. Many states raise their minimums on January 1, 2027; we update the table then.
- Independence
- Rank the States is independent. The agencies that produce the source data do not endorse these rankings.
Download, cite, or embed
Download the default full table (CSV) or use the download above for the table’s current filter and order. Data dictionary and source metadata
Updates and corrections
Last updated Oct. 23, 2026. Earlier editions stay available on the data page, and every change is listed in the update log. If a number or definition looks wrong, report an error with the state, value, and source you checked.