Minimum Wage
The minimum wage is the lowest hourly rate an employer can legally pay. There is a federal minimum, but most workers are covered by a higher state or city minimum.
- All workers
- State-specific
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- New Mexico
- Washington
- District of Columbia
Federal minimum wage
The federal minimum wage under the FLSA is $7.25 per hour, and it hasn’t changed since 2009. It covers most private employers.
State and local minimum wages
- About 30 states plus Washington, D.C. have a minimum wage higher than $7.25. Many raise it every January for inflation.
- Many cities and counties (for example in California, Washington, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico and Arizona) set their own, even higher, minimums.
- Some states have no minimum wage law, or one lower than $7.25. In those states, the federal $7.25 applies to most jobs.
- You get the highest rate that applies: federal, state or local.
See which states are above the federal minimum in the 50-State Quick Reference, and check the current rate on your state labor department’s website or the U.S. DOL state minimum wage map.
Construction and industrial jobs
- Most construction and industrial jobs pay well above minimum wage, but minimum wage still matters for calculating whether illegal deductions or unpaid hours pushed your real pay below the minimum.
- On public projects, a much higher prevailing wage may apply.
- Piece-rate and day-rate pay are legal, but your total pay divided by all hours worked must still meet the minimum wage, and overtime still applies. See Overtime.
Tools and uniforms: under federal law, an employer can’t make you pay for tools, uniforms or PPE that are mainly for the employer’s benefit if it pushes your pay below minimum wage or cuts into overtime. Many states go further. And OSHA requires employers to pay for most required PPE.
Standards & references
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