State-by-State Guide to 2019 Minimum Wage Rates

Dec 14, 2018 | Tax & Wage Laws

Review our state-by-state guide to 2019 minimum wage rates to ensure you’re following the law.

Update July 1, 2019: This post has been updated to include minimum wage rates that increased on July 1, 2019.

A number of states, counties, and cities will raise their minimum wage rates on January 1, 2019. Nannies and other household employees are required by federal law to be paid at least the highest minimum wage of federal, state, and local rates. The federal rate is set at $7.25.

Here are the 2019 minimum wage rates effective January 1 that are relevant to household employers. Please note that New York State minimum wage rates increase on December 31, 2018.

States that are bolded have increased their minimum wage rates beginning January 1, 2019.

State	2019 Hourly Minimum Wage Rate	Additional Information
Alabama	$7.25	Federal minimum wage applies; no state minimum wage
Alaska	$9.89
Arizona	$11	Increases to $12/hour in 2020
Arizona – Flagstaff	$12
Arkansas	$7.25	For employers with four or more workers, the state rate of $9.25/hour applies. Increases to $10/hour in 2020 and $11/hour in 2021
California	$11/hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees. See additional chart below for cities that have new minimum wage rates for 2019.	For employers with 25 or fewer employees, the minimum wage increases $1/hour every year until it hits $15/hour in 2023
Colorado	$11.10	Increases to $12/hour in 2020
Connecticut	$10.10
Delaware	$9.25	Increased to $9.25 on October 1, 2019
District of Columbia	$14	Increased to $14/hour on July 1, 2019
Florida	$8.46
Georgia	$7.25
Hawaii	$10.10
Idaho	$7.25
Illinois	$8.25
Illinois – Chicago	$13	Increased to $13/hour on July 1, 2019
Illinois – Cook County	$12	Increased to $12/hour on July 1, 2019
Indiana	$7.25
Iowa	$7.25
Kansas	$7.25
Kentucky	$7.25
Kentucky – Lexington	$10.10
Kentucky – Louisville	$9
Louisiana	$7.25	Federal minimum wage applies; no state minimum wage
Maine	$11	Increases to $12/hour in 2020.
Maine – Portland	$11.11	Increased to $11.11/hour on July 1, 2019
Maryland	$10.10
Maryland – Montgomery County	$12.50; for employers with 10 or fewer employees	Increased to $12.50/hour on July 1, 2019
Maryland – Prince George County	$11.50
Massachusetts	$12	Increases to $12.75/hour in 2020, $13.50/hour in 2021, $14.25/hour in 2022, and $15/hour in 2023
Michigan	$9.45
Minnesota	$8.04 for small businesses
Minnesota – Minneapolis	$11 for employers with 100 or fewer employees	Increased to $11/hour on July 1, 2019
Mississippi	$7.25	Federal minimum wage applies; no state minimum wage
Missouri	$8.60	Increases to $9.45/hour in 2020, $10.30/hour in 2021, $11.15/hour in 2022, and $12/hour in 2023
Montana	$8.50
Nebraska	$9
Nevada	$8.25
New Hampshire	$7.25
New Jersey	$8.85	$10/hour for employers with six or more workers
New Mexico	$7.50
New Mexico – Albuquerque	$9.20
New Mexico – Bernalillo County	$9.05
New Mexico – Las Cruces	$10.10
New York	$11.10; effective December 31, 2018	Increases $1/hour every year until it reaches $15/hour in 2021
New York – New York City	$13.50 for employers with 10 or fewer employees; effective December 31, 2018	Increases to $15/hour on December 31, 2019
New York – Nassau, Suffolk & Westchester Counties	$12; effective December 31, 2018	Increases $1/hour every year until it reaches $15/hour in 2021
North Carolina	$7.25
North Dakota	$7.25
Ohio	$7.25	Ohio has a special minimum wage for businesses with annual gross receipts of more than $314,000 per year ($8.55/hour). Household employers follow the federal wage of $7.25/hour.
Oklahoma	$7.25
Oregon	$11.25	Increased to $11.25/hour on July 1, 2019; $12/hour in 2020; $12.75/hour in 2021; and $13.50/hour in 2022
Oregon – Nonurban Counties	$11	Increased to $11/hour on July 1, 2019; $11.50/hour in 2020; $12/hour in 2021; and $12.50/hour in 2022
Oregon – Portland Metro	$12.50	Increased to $12.50/hour on July 1, 2019; $13.25/hour in 2020; $14/hour in 2021; and $14.75/hour in 2022
Pennsylvania	$7.25
Rhode Island	$10.50
South Carolina	$7.25	Federal minimum wage applies; no state minimum wage
South Dakota	$9.10
Tennessee	$7.25	Federal minimum wage applies; no state minimum wage
Texas	$7.25
Utah	$7.25
Vermont	$10.78
Virginia	$7.25
Washington	$14	Increased to $14/hour on July 1, 2019
Washington – Seattle	$12 if you contribute to employee’s medical benefits; $15 if you don’t contribute to employee’s medical benefits	Increases to $13.50/$15.75 in 2020
Washington – Tacoma	$12.35
West Virginia	$8.75
Wisconsin	$7.25
Wyoming	$7.25

The following California cities have a higher minimum wage than the state’s rate and supersedes the state’s minimum wage requirement.

City	2019 Hourly Minimum Wage Rate	Additional Information
Alameda	$13.50
Belmont	$13.50
Berkeley	$15
Cupertino	$15
El Cerrito	$15
Emeryville	$16.30 for small employers	Increased to $16.30/hour on July 1, 2019
Los Altos	$15
Los Angeles (city and county)	$13.25 for small employers	Increased to $13.25/hour on July 1, 2019
Malibu	$13.25	Increased to $13.25/hour on July 1, 2019
Milpitas	$15	Increased to $15/hour on July 1, 2019
Mountain View	$15.65
Oakland	$13.80
Palo Alto	$15	Effective January 2, 2019
Pasadena	$13.25 for small employers	Increased to $13.25/hour on July 1, 2019
Richmond	$16
San Diego	$12
San Francisco	$15
San Jose	$15
San Leandro	$14	Increased to $14/hour on July 1, 2019
San Mateo	$15
Santa Clara	$15
Santa Monica	$13.25 for small employers	Increased to $13.25/hour on July 1, 2019
Sunnyvale	$15.65

For more information on paying your household employee the right way, view our nanny tax guide.

Better yet, why do it yourself? Let GTM Payroll Services manage it all for you and remove the risks, hassles, and worries of complying with federal and state tax, wage, and labor laws. Call (800) 929-9213 for a free, no-obligation consultation with a household employment expert.