Minimum Wage Rates for a Nanny and Other Household Employees

Household employees like nannies, housekeepers, and in-home senior caregivers are required to be paid at least the prevailing minimum wage hourly rate. This will be the highest of the federal, state, or local rates. The federal rate of $7.25/hour hasn’t changed for quite some time. However, many states, counties, and cities have much higher rates.

Here are the current minimum wage rates for nannies and other household employees.

Alabama

$7.25/hour – No state minimum wage rate. The federal rate applies.

Alaska

$10.85/hour

Arizona

$13.85/hour

Flagstaff

$16.80/hour

Tucson

$13.85/hour –  This rate will increase to $14.25/hour in 2024; and $15/hour in 2025. Then the minimum wage may increase each January depending on the inflation rate.

Arkansas

$11/hour

California

$15.50/hour – For employers with 25 or fewer employees. This rate will increase to $16/hour in 2024.

California city-specific rates

See the chart below for local rates that exceed California’s state minimum wage rate.

Colorado

$13.65/hour

Denver

$17.29/hour – Increases to $18.29/hour on January 1, 2024.

Edgewater

$15.02/hour – Effective January 1, 2024. Increases to $16.52 in 2025; $18.17 in 2026; $19.99 in 2027; and $21.99 in 2028.

Connecticut

$15/hour –  Effective June 1, 2023. Beginning January 1, 2024, the state minimum wage will be indexed to the employment cost index and the rate will grow according to economic indicators.

Delaware

$11.75/hour – Increases to $13.25/hour on January 1, 2024, and then to $15/hour on January 1, 2025.

District of Columbia

$16.10/hour – Increases to $17/hour on July 1, 2023

Florida

$11/hour – Increases by $1/hour every September 30 thereafter until it reaches $15/hour in 2026.

Georgia

$7.25/hour – The state’s minimum wage rate of $5.15/hour doesn’t apply to household employees as it is below the federal rate.

Hawaii

$12/hour – Increases to $14/hour on January 1, 2024; $16/hour on January 1, 2026; and then to $18/hour on January 1, 2028.

Idaho

$7.25/hour

Illinois

$13/hour – Increases by $1/hour every January 1 until it reaches $15/hour in 2025.

Chicago

$15.40/hour – This rate applies to domestic workers regardless of the number employed by the family.

Cook County (outside of Chicago)

$13.35/hour – Increases to $13.70/hour on July 1, 2023. An inflation-adjusted minimum wage rate will be announced each year by June 1.

Indiana

$7.25/hour

Iowa

$7.25/hour

Kansas

$7.25/hour

Kentucky

$7.25/hour

Louisiana

$7.25/hour – No state minimum wage rate. The federal rate applies.

Maine

$13.80/hour

Portland

$14/hour – Portland recently passed a referendum that annually raises the city’s minimum wage to $15/hour in 2024, and then annually thereafter based on a cost of living increase.

Rockland

$14/hour – Rockland recently approved a new minimum wage ordinance that increases the city’s minimum wage rate to $14/hour in 2023 and $15/hour in 2024. Each January 1 beginning in 2025 the city will adjust the rate based on the consumer price index.

Maryland

$12.80/hour – Increases to $15/hour for all employers, regardless of size, on January 1, 2024.

Howard County

$13.25/hour – The rate will gradually rise to $16/hour by July 1, 2026. This rate is for employers with under 15 workers.

Montgomery County

$14.50/hour – This rate, which became effective on July 1, 2023, is for employers with 10 or fewer workers.

Massachusetts

$15/hour

Michigan

$10.10/hour

Minnesota

$8.63/hour – This rate is for small employers.

Minneapolis

$13.50/hour – For employers with 100 or fewer employees. Increases to $14.50 on July 1, 2023, and then to $15/hour in 2024.

St. Paul

$10.75/hour – This rate is for employers with five or fewer workers. Increases to $11.50/hour on July 1, 2023.

Mississippi

$7.25/hour – No state minimum wage rate. The federal rate applies.

Missouri

$12/hour

Montana

$9.95/hour

Nebraska

$10.50/hour – Voters in Nebraska recently approved an initiative that increases the state’s minimum wage rate by $1.50/hour each year until it reaches $15 per hour in 2026. Beginning in 2027, the minimum wage rate will be adjusted annually for increases in the cost of living.

Nevada

$10.50 (without employee health benefits); $9.50/hour (with qualified employee health benefits) – Increases to $11.25/hour and $10.25/hour on July 1, 2023. Starting on July 1, 2024, there will be a single rate of $12/hour as the state will eliminate its two-tiered minimum wage system based on whether health benefits are offered.

New Hampshire

$7.25/hour – No state minimum wage rate. The federal rate applies.

New Jersey

$12.93/hour – This applies to employers with fewer than six employees.

New Mexico

$12/hour

Santa Fe (City and County)

$14.03/hour – Annual living wage increases occur on March 1.

New York

$14.20/hour – Increases to $15/hour on January 1, 2024. In 2025, the rate increases to $15.50/hour and then to $16/hour in 2026. As of January 1, 2027, the minimum wage will be based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (“CPI-W”) for the Northeast Region.

New York City, Long Island & Westchester County

$15/hour – Increases to $16/hour on January 1, 2024. In 2025, the rate increases to $16.50/hour and then to $17/hour in 2026.

North Carolina

$7.25/hour

North Dakota

$7.25/hour

Ohio

$7.25/hour – Ohio has a special minimum wage for businesses with annual gross receipts of more than $342,000 per year ($10.10/hour). However, household employers follow the lower rate.

Oklahoma

$7.25/hour

Oregon

To determine which rate applies to your county, visit Oregon Minimum Wage Rate Summary.

Portland

$14.75/hour – Increases to $15.45/hour on July 1, 2023.

Standard

$13.50/hour – Increases to $14.20/hour on July 1, 2023.

Non-urban counties

$12.50/hour – Increases to $13.20/hour on July 1, 2023.

Pennsylvania

$7.25/hour

Rhode Island

$7.25/hour – Domestic workers are excluded from the state’s minimum wage rate of $13/hour. However, legislation has been introduced requiring domestic workers to be paid at least the state’s minimum wage rate.

South Carolina

$7.25/hour – No state minimum wage rate. The federal rate applies.

South Dakota

$10.80/hour

Tennessee

$7.25/hour – No state minimum wage rate. The federal rate applies.

Texas

$7.25/hour

Utah

$7.25/hour

Vermont

$13.18/hour

Virginia

$12/hour – The rate increases to $13.50/hour in 2025 and $15/hour in 2026 will be contingent on the General Assembly’s enactment by July 1, 2024. The state’s new minimum wage law removes exempt status from several categories of employees including home care providers and domestic service workers.

Washington

$15.74/hour

Seattle

$18.69/hour – If you pay $2.19/hour toward medical benefits, the minimum wage will be $16.50/hour.

Tukwila

$15.74 – Increases to $16.99/hour on July 1, 2023.

West Virginia

$7.25/hour – The state minimum wage of $8.75 applies if you have six or more employees working at any one separate, distinct, and permanent work location.

Wisconsin

$7.25/hour

Wyoming

$7.25/hour – The state’s minimum wage rate of $5.15/hour doesn’t apply to household employees as it is below the federal rate.

California Local Minimum Wage Rates

Alameda

$16.52/hour

Belmont

$16.75/hour

Berkeley

$18.07/hour

Burlingame

$16.47/hour

Cupertino

$17.20/hour

Daly City

$16.07/hour

East Palo Alto

$16.50/hour

El Cerrito

$17.35/hour

Emeryville

$18.67/hour

Foster City

$16.50/hour

Fremont

$16.80/hour

Half Moon Bay

$16.45/hour

Hayward

$15.50/hour

Los Altos

$17.20/hour

Los Angeles (city)

$16.78/hour

Los Angeles (county)

$16.90/hour

Malibu

$16.90/hour

Menlo Park

$16.20/hour

Milpitas

$17.20/hour

Mountain View

$18.15/hour

Novato

$15.53/hour for small employers

Oakland

$15.97/hour

Palo Alto

$17.25/hour

Pasadena

$16.93/hour

Petaluma

$17.06/hour – Increases to $17.45/hour on January 1, 2024.

Redwood City

$17/hour

Richmond

$16.17/hour

San Carlos

$16.32/hour

San Diego

$16.30/hour

San Francisco (city and county)

$18.07/hour

San Jose

$17/hour

San Mateo

$16.50/hour

San Mateo County

$15.60/hour

Santa Clara

$17.20/hour

Santa Monica

$16.90/hour for small employers

Santa Rosa

$17.06/hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees – Increases to $17.45/hour on January 1, 2024.

Sonoma

$16/hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees

South San Francisco

$16.70/hour

Sunnyvale

$17.96/hour

West Hollywood

$19.08/hour