Federal minimum wage
The federal minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is $7.25 an hour. It took effect on July 24, 2009, the last step of the 2007 amendments, and had not changed as of DOL's July 1, 2026 update,17 years later.
| Rate | Amount | As DOL states it |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum wage | $7.25 | For covered, nonexempt workers; in force since July 24, 2009 |
| Tipped cash wage | $2.13 | Minimum cash wage for tipped employees; tipped employee defined by tips of "More than $30" a month |
| Maximum tip credit | $5.12 | Cash wage plus tip credit equals the $7.25 minimum |
| Youth subminimum | $4.25 | A subminimum wage -- $4.25 an hour -- is established for employees under 20 years of age during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment with an employer. |
Sources: DOL Wage and Hour Division, Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (revised July 1, 2026) and the history chart (footnote 5 for the youth wage). Fetched 2026-10-17.
Where the federal rate is the floor
DOL's state table lists 13 states whose own minimum equals $7.25: Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin. In 7 more (Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wyoming) there is no state minimum wage law or the state rate is below the federal one, so employers covered by the FLSA pay the federal rate. The remaining states and DC set a higher rate; the state table has all of them.
Who the FLSA covers is a question of enterprise and individual coverage set out in the statute and DOL's fact sheets, summarized without advice in federal versus state minimum wage and exempt versus non-exempt.
Every federal rate since 1938
Newest first. Until 1978 the FLSA extended coverage in stages and newly covered workers were phased in at lower rates, so DOL's chart has three columns: workers first covered by the 1938 Act, by the 1961 amendments, and by the 1966 and later amendments. From January 1, 1978 one rate applies to all covered, nonexempt workers. Cells are printed as DOL prints them.
| Effective date | 1938 Act | 1961 amendments | 1966 and subsequent amendments |
|---|---|---|---|
| $7.25 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $7.25 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $7.25 for all covered, nonexempt workers | |
| $6.55 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $6.55 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $6.55 for all covered, nonexempt workers | |
| $5.85 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $5.85 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $5.85 for all covered, nonexempt workers | |
| 5 | $5.15 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $5.15 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $5.15 for all covered, nonexempt workers |
| $4.75 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $4.75 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $4.75 for all covered, nonexempt workers | |
| $4.25 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $4.25 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $4.25 for all covered, nonexempt workers | |
| 4 | $3.80 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $3.80 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $3.80 for all covered, nonexempt workers |
| $3.35 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $3.35 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $3.35 for all covered, nonexempt workers | |
| $3.10 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $3.10 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $3.10 for all covered, nonexempt workers | |
| $2.90 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $2.90 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $2.90 for all covered, nonexempt workers | |
| $2.65 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $2.65 for all covered, nonexempt workers | $2.65 for all covered, nonexempt workers | |
| Nonfarm - $2.30, Farm - $2.20 | |||
| $2.30 | $2.30 | Nonfarm - $2.20, Farm - $2.00 | |
| $2.10 | $2.10 | Nonfarm - $2.00, Farm - $1.80 | |
| $2.00 | $2.00 | Nonfarm - $1.90, Farm - $1.60 | |
| Nonfarm - $1.60 | |||
| Nonfarm - $1.00 | |||
| Nonfarm - $1.30, Farm - $1.30 | |||
| $1.60 | $1.60 | Nonfarm - $1.15, Farm - $1.15 | |
| $1.40 | $1.40 | Nonfarm - $1.00, Farm - $1.00 | |
| $1.25 | |||
| $1.15 | |||
| $1.25 | |||
| $1.15 | $1.00 | ||
| $1.00 | |||
| $0.75 | |||
| $0.40 | |||
| $0.30 | |||
| $0.25 |
Chart footnotes, as printed by DOL
- the 1938 Act was applicable generally to employees engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for interstate commerce.
- the 1961 Amendments extended coverage primarily to employees in large retail and service enterprises as well as to local transit, construction, and gasoline service station employees.
- the 1966 Amendments extended coverage to State and local government employees of hospitals, nursing homes, and schools, and to laundries, drycleaners, and large hotels, motels, restaurants, and farms. Subsequent amendments extended overage to the remaining Federal, State and local government employees who were not protected in 1966, to certain workers in retail and service trades previously exempted, and to certain domestic workers in private household employment.
- Grandfather clause - Employees who do not meet the tests for individual coverage, and whose employers were covered by the FLSA on March 31, 1990, and fail to meet the increased annual dollar volume (ADV) test for enterprise coverage, must continue to receive at least $3.35 an hour.
- A subminimum wage -- $4.25 an hour -- is established for employees under 20 years of age during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment with an employer.
Source: History of Federal Minimum Wage Rates Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938 to 2009; the narrative behind it is DOL's History of Changes to the Minimum Wage Law. Note: the chart's February 1, 1970 row prints "Nonfarm - $1.00" where the narrative gives $1.45 for newly covered nonfarm workers; the chart is reproduced as published.
Related
- Minimum wage by state: every state and DC against the federal rate.
- Tipped wages and tip credits: how the $2.13 cash wage and the credit fit together.
- Overtime basics: the FLSA's time-and-a-half rule.
- Hourly wage calculator on FastCalc converts an hourly rate to weekly, monthly and annual pay; this site computes nothing.
This page describes published rates and is not legal advice. For how to raise an underpayment, see FastGuide.