Federal versus state minimum wage

The United States has one federal minimum wage and, in most states, a second one set by state law. The minimum wage tables on this site show both. This page explains how they relate.

The federal floor

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 sets a national minimum wage for employees it covers. The current rate, $7.25 an hour, took effect on July 24, 2009, the last step of the 2007 amendments; the federal page lists every rate since 1938. The statute also sets a lower cash wage for tipped employees and a youth wage for workers under 20 in their first 90 days; see tipped wages and tip credits.

Not every job is covered. The FLSA reaches employees of enterprises with at least $500,000 in annual sales and employees of hospitals, schools and government agencies regardless of sales (enterprise coverage), and individual employees who are engaged in interstate commerce or in producing goods for it, which DOL interprets broadly (individual coverage). Most employees are covered. Some are covered but exempt from the minimum wage provision by specific sections of the statute; see exempt versus non-exempt.

State laws

States may set their own minimum wage, and the FLSA says explicitly, in section 18, that it does not excuse compliance with a state law setting a higher minimum. The result is a simple rule DOL states on its consolidated table: where federal and state law both apply, the employer must pay the higher rate.

As of DOL’s table dated July 1, 2026, thirty states plus the District of Columbia set a rate above $7.25, thirteen match it, two set a rate below it, and five have no minimum wage law at all. Where the state rate is below the federal rate or absent, employers covered by the FLSA pay $7.25, and the state rate matters only to the few employers outside federal coverage. Several states write this into their own law by adopting the federal rate by reference.

What a state law can add

State laws differ from the FLSA in more than the rate. Many cover smaller employers than the federal law does, which is why a $7.25 state law is not redundant. Some set different rates by employer size or gross receipts (Ohio, Montana, Oklahoma), by region (New York, Oregon), or for small and seasonal employers (New Jersey). Many index the rate to inflation so it changes each year without new legislation; DOL’s table says “adjusted annually based on a set formula.” A few set a daily overtime threshold or a different tipped cash wage. Each state’s page here shows DOL’s wording for all of this.

Local laws

Cities and counties in some states set a third rate above the state’s. DOL’s tables do not include them, and this site does not show them in Wave 1. The same rule applies: the highest applicable rate governs.

Where the figures on this site come from

The state rates, tipped cash wages and tip credits are read from the Wage and Hour Division’s two tables, with the date DOL last updated them and the date this site last verified them printed on every page. DOL’s own caveat is repeated there: the table does not display subminimum rates for minors and students, training wages, or local rates, and readers should consult the state labor office for official information. This site does not read state statutes directly in this wave.

What this page does not do

It does not say which law covers a particular job, whether an employer is an “enterprise” under the FLSA, or what to do about an underpayment. Coverage turns on facts about the employer and the work. DOL’s fact sheets describe the tests, state labor offices administer the state laws, and the sister site FastGuide covers how a wage claim is filed. The state wage pages show what jobs in a state actually pay, which for most occupations is well above either floor.