2017 Federal and State Minimum Wage Rates

What is the minimum wage for 2017? The minimum wage rate is the lowest hourly pay that can be awarded to workers, also known as a pay floor. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA determines the minimum wage for employees in private and public sectors, in both Federal and State governments. Under the FLSA, non-exempt employees must be paid the minimum wage or higher. Review information on current state and federal minimum wage rates, exceptions, and scheduled increases.

Federal Minimum Wage
The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and has not increased since July 2009. However, some states have a higher minimum wage rate. When the state minimum wage rate is higher than the federal rate, employers are required to pay workers the higher amount.

Currently, there are no official decisions on an increased federal minimum wage in 2017. With that said, this year the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) enacted legislation that employees with federal contracts must be paid at least $10.20 per hour, beginning January 1, 2017. Likewise, tipped employees connected to federal contracts must be paid a cash wage of at least $6.80 per hour.

Exemptions from Minimum Wage
Please note that some employees are exempt from minimum wage requirements, such as those who are not protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act, tipped employees such as waitstaff, for example, and others can be paid at a lower rate than minimum wage.

State Minimum Wage Rates
In a few states, including New York, Washington, Florida, California, Kentucky, and New Mexico, the minimum wage varies from one city or county to another.

For example, the minimum wage for Los Angeles and Chicago is higher than the hourly rate in California or Illinois. This variance is due to differences in the cost of living, usually in urban communities.
At the current time, 29 states have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour), and five states have not set a state minimum wage. In these states including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee, the federal minimum wage applies unless the employer is exempt according to the stipulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Minimum Wage Rates for 2017 Listed by State
The following is a list of minimum wage rates for each state for 2017 announced, to date. The list also includes scheduled increases for future years. The data is based on information provided by the Economic Policy Institute and the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Alabama: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
Alaska: $9.80 (Annual indexing has begun)
Arizona: $10.00 (Raised to $12.00 through Indexed Annual Increases between 1/1/2018 to 1/1/2020)
Arkansas: $8.50
California: $10.50 ($11.00 to $15.00 in $1.00 Indexed Annual Increases between 1/1/2018 to 1/1/2022)
Colorado: $9.30* ($9.30 to $12.00 in $0.90 Indexed Annual Increases between 1/1/2018 and 1/1/2020)
Connecticut: $10.10
Delaware: $8.25
District of Columbia: $12.50 (Increases to $15 with Indexed Annual Increases between 7/1/2018 and 7/1/2020)
Florida: $8.10*
Georgia: $5.15 if not covered by Federal Regulations otherwise $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage)
Guam: $8.25
Hawaii: $9.25, $10.10 by 1/1/2018
Idaho: $7.25
Illinois: $8.25 - Chicago $11.00 July 2017, $12.00 July 2018, $13.00 July 2019
Indiana: $7.25
Iowa: $7.25
Kansas: $7.25
Kentucky: $7.25
Louisiana: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
Maine: $9.00 ($10.00 to $12.00 in $1.00 annual Increases between 1/1/2018 to 1/1/2020) (Indexed annual increases will begin on 1/1/2021)
Maryland: $9.25, Increases to $10.10 7/1/2018
Massachusetts: $11.00 ($3.75 for tipped employees), $16.50 per hour for working on a Sunday
Michigan: $8.90, $9.25 by 1/12018 (Indexed annual increases will begin on 4/1/2019)
Minnesota: Large employers are required to pay workers $9.50/hour and small employers (less than 500k in annual sales) $7.75 (Indexed Annual increases will begin on 1/1/2018)
Mississippi: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
Missouri: $7.70
Montana: $8.15 ($4.00 for businesses with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less) (Annual indexing has begun)
Nebraska: $9.00
Nevada: $8.25 Nevada’s minimum wage is set at $1.00 above the federal minimum wage for firms not providing health insurance. The minimum may be increased more than $1.00 above the federal minimum wage if cumulative inflation, as measured by the CPI-U, is larger than the percentage change in the federal minimum wage since December 31, 2004.
New Hampshire: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage)
New Jersey: $8.44 (Annual indexing has begun)
New Mexico: $7.50
New York: $9.70 ($10.40 by 12/31/2017 with $0.70 Indexed Annual Increases from 12/31/2017 to $12.50 by 12/31/2020. Starting 1/1/2021, the rate will be adjusted annually for inflation until it reaches $15 an hour) - More information on New York minimum wage increases.
North Carolina: $7.25
North Dakota: $7.25
Ohio: $8.15* ($7:25 for employers with gross sales of $283,000 or less) (Annual indexing has begun)
Oklahoma: $7.25
Oregon: $10.25 (From $10.75 to $13.50 from 7/1/2018 to 7/1/2022)
Pennsylvania: $7.25
Puerto Rico: $7.25
Rhode Island: $9.60
South Carolina: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
South Dakota: $8.65 (Annual indexing has begun)
Tennessee: $7.25 (Federal Minimum Wage, no state minimum)
Texas: $7.25
Utah: $7.25
Vermont: $10, $10.50 by 1/1/2018, Annual indexing begins 1/1/2019
Virgin Islands: $9.50($4.30 for employers grossing $150,000 or less), $10.50, 6/1/18
Virginia: $7.25
Washington: $11.00 (From $11.50 to $13.50 from 1/1/2018- 1/1/2020)
West Virginia: $8.75
Wisconsin: $7.25
Wyoming: $7.25, $5.15 if federal regulations do not apply
Please Note: Some states as noted adjust their rate annually based on the cost of living. In those cases, the figure listed is an estimate pending that adjustment. In addition, some cities, counties, state governments, and companies have higher minimum wage rates than the state minimum. In some states, a separate minimum wage has been set for small employers.

Minimum wage rates may change during the calendar year. Check with your state department of labor for rates and wages specific to your location.