Minimum wage in the United States

Congress sets the federal minimum by statute, as an hourly rate. Each state may set its own, and so may some counties and cities.

The federal rate changes only when Congress passes a law, which is rare. Many states raise theirs by law or by automatic yearly adjustment, so the figure that matters is the one for the state, and sometimes the city, where the work is done.

• Where a state or city rate is higher than the federal rate, the employer must pay the higher one.
• Tipped workers can be paid a lower cash wage in many states, as long as wages plus tips reach the minimum; the rules differ by state.
• Some categories of worker are exempt from the federal rate, and younger workers and trainees can be paid less in limited cases.

• Look up your state, and your city if it has its own rate, rather than relying on the federal figure.
• The figure shown here is the federal hourly rate, the lowest possible one. Many workers earn a legal minimum well above it.

The United States belongs to the Common law family. How pay is regulated depends on how the legal system makes and applies labour law.

Read the United States legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Compare United States with another country →

• US Department of Labor: minimum wage topic page
• US Department of Labor: minimum wage laws in the states