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
$10.34/hour
Arizona
$12.80/hour – Effective January 1, 2022.
Flagstaff
$15.50/hour – Effective January 1, 2022.
Tucson
$13/hour – Effective April 1, 2022. This rate will increase to $13.50/hour in 2023; $14.25/hour in 2024; and $15/hour in 2025. Then the minimum wage may increase each January depending on the rate of inflation.
Arkansas
$11/hour
California
$14/hour – For employers with 25 or fewer employees. The state minimum wage rate is projected to increase to $15.50/hour for all employers effective January 1, 2023. It was scheduled to increase to $15/hour. The accelerated increase is required by a provision in the state’s minimum wage law when inflation exceeds 7 percent.
California city-specific rates
See the chart below for local rates that exceed California’s state minimum wage rate.
Colorado
$12.56/hour – Effective January 1, 2022.
Denver
$15.87/hour – Effective January 1, 2022.
Connecticut
$14/hour – Effective July 1, 2022. Increases to $15/hour on 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
$10.50/hour – Effective January 1, 2022. Increases to $11.75/hour on January 1, 2023; $13.25/hour on January 1, 2024; and then to $15/hour on January 1, 2025.
District of Columbia
$16.10/hour – Effective July 1, 2022.
Florida
$10/hour – Increases to $11/hour on September 30, 2022. Will Increase $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
$10.10/hour – Increases to $12/hour on October 1, 2022; $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
$12/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 – 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
$12.75/hour – Effective January 1, 2022.
Portland
$13/hour – Effective January 1, 2022. Portland recently passed a referendum that annually raises the city’s minimum wage from $13/hour beginning on January 1, 2022, to $15/hour in 2024, and then annually thereafter based on a cost of living increase.
Rockland
$13/hour – Rockland recently approved a new minimum wage ordinance that increases the city’s minimum wage rate to $13/hour on January 1, 2022; $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. For 2021, Rockland follows the state minimum wage rate of $12.15/hour.
Maryland
$12.20/hour – Increases $0.60/hour every January 1 until 2026. On July 1, 2026, the rate increases to $15/hour. This rate is for employers with 14 or fewer workers.
Howard County
$12.50/hour – Effective April 1, 2022. Increases to $13.25/hour on January 1, 2023. The rate will gradually rise to $16/hour by July 1, 2026. This is rate is for employers with under 15 workers.
Montgomery County
$14/hour – Effective July 1, 2022. Increases to $14.50/hour on July 1, 2023. This rate is for employers with 10 or fewer workers.
Massachusetts
$14.25/hour – Effective January 1, 2022. Increases to $15/hour in 2023.
Michigan
$9.87/hour – Effective January 1, 2022. Gradual annual minimum wage increases until the rate reaches $12.05.
Minnesota
$8.42/hour – Effective January 1, 2022. This rate is for small employers.
Minneapolis
$13.50/hour – Effective July 1, 2022. For employers with 100 or fewer employees. Increases to $14.50 in 2023 and then to $15/hour in 2024.
St. Paul
$10.75/hour – Effective July 1, 2022. This rate is for employers with five or fewer workers.
Mississippi
$7.25/hour – No state minimum wage rate. The federal rate applies.
Missouri
$11.15/hour – Effective January 1, 2022. Increases to $12/hour in 2023.
Montana
$9.20/hour –Effective January 1, 2022.
Nebraska
$9/hour
Nevada
$10.50 (without employee health benefits); $9.50/hour (with qualified employee health benefits) – Effective July 1, 2022. Increases to $11.25/hour and $10.25/hour in 2023, and then to $12/hour and $11/hour in 2024.
New Hampshire
$7.25/hour – No state minimum wage rate. The federal rate applies.
New Jersey
$11.90/hour – Effective January 1, 2022. Applies to employers with less than six employees.
New Mexico
$11.50/hour – Effective January 1, 2022
Santa Fe (City and County)
$12.95/hour – Annual living wage increases occur on March 1.
New York
$13.20/hour – Effective December 31, 2021. Annual increases will continue until the rate reaches $15/hour. These increases will be published before October 1 and will be based on economic indices, including the Consumer Price Index.
New York City
$15/hour – For employers with 10 or fewer employees.
Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties
$15/hour – Effective December 31, 2021.
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 ($9.30/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 – Effective July 1, 2022.
Standard
$13.50/hour – Effective July 1, 2022.
Non-urban counties
$12.50/hour – Effective July 1, 2022.
Pennsylvania
$7.25/hour
Rhode Island
$12.25/hour – Effective January 1, 2022. Increases to $13 per hour in 2023; $14/hour in 2024; and then to $15/hour in 2025.
South Carolina
$7.25/hour – No state minimum wage rate. The federal rate applies.
South Dakota
$9.95/hour – Effective January 1, 2022.
Tennessee
$7.25/hour – No state minimum wage rate. The federal rate applies.
Texas
$7.25/hour
Utah
$7.25/hour
Vermont
$12.55/hour – Effective January 1, 2022.
Virginia
$11/hour –Effective January 1, 2022. Increases to $12/hour in 2023. 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
$14.49/hour – Effective January 1, 2022.
Seattle
$17.27/hour – Effective January 1, 2022. If you pay $1.52/hour toward medical benefits, the minimum wage will be $15.75/hour.
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
$15.75/hour
Belmont
$16.20/hour
Berkeley
$16.99/hour – Rate increases based on the Consumer Price Index
Burlingame
$15.60/hour
Cupertino
$16.40/hour
Daly City
$15.53/hour
East Palo Alto
$15.60/hour
El Cerrito
$16.37/hour
Emeryville
$17.68/hour
Foster City
$15.75/hour
Fremont
$16/hour
Half Moon Bay
$15.56/hour
Hayward
$14.52/hour
Los Altos
$16.40/hour
Los Angeles (city)
$16.04/hour for small employers
Los Angeles (county)
$15.96/hour
Malibu
$15.96/hour
Menlo Park
$15.75/hour
Milpitas
$16.40/hour – Indexed to inflation
Mountain View
$17.10/hour
Novato
$15/hour for small employers
Oakland
$15.06/hour
Palo Alto
$16.45/hour
Pasadena
$16.11/hour
Redwood City
$16.20/hour
Richmond
$15.21/hour
San Carlos
$15.77/hour
San Diego
$15/hour
San Francisco (city and county)
$16.99/hour
San Jose
$16.20/hour
San Leandro
$15/hour
San Mateo
$15.62/hour
Santa Clara
$16.40/hour
Santa Monica
$15.96/hour for small employers
Santa Rosa
$15.85/hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees.
South San Francisco
$15.80/hour
Sunnyvale
$17.10/hour
West Hollywood
$16/hour for employers with less than 50 workers
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