Minimum Wage Rates for Nannies and 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 that are relevant to household employers.

Alabama

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

Birmingham

$10.10/hour

Alaska

$10.34/hour

Arizona

$12.15/hour

Flagstaff

$15/hour – Increases to $15.50/hour (or $2/hour above the state rate, whichever is higher) in 2022.

Arkansas

$11/hour

California

$13/hour – For employers with 25 or fewer employees. This rate will increase by $1/hour every year on January 1 until it hits $15/hour in 2023.

California city-specific rates

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

Colorado

$12.32/hour

Denver

$14.77/hour – Increases to $15.87/hour in 2022.

Connecticut

$13/hour – Increases to $14 on July 1, 2022; and then 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

$9.25/hour

District of Columbia

$15.20/hour

Florida

$8.65/hour – Increases to $10/hour on September 30, 2021. 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

Idaho

$7.25/hour

Illinois

$11/hour – Increases by $1/hour every January 1 until it reaches $15/hour in 2025.

Chicago

$14/hour – Increases to $14.50/hour in 2022 and $15/hour in 2023.

Cook County (outside of Chicago)

$13/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

$12.15/hour

Portland

Portland recently passed a referendum that annually raises the city’s minimum wage from $13/hour beginning in 2022 to $15/hour in 2024, and then annually thereafter based on a cost of living increase. For 2021, Portland follows the state minimum wage rate of $12.15/hour.

Rockland

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

$11.60/hour – Increases $0.60/hour every January 1 until 2026. On July 1, 2026, the rate increases to $15/hour.

Montgomery County

$13.50/hour – For employers with 10 or fewer employees.

Massachusetts

$13.50/hour – Increases to $14.25/hour in 2022 and then to $15/hour in 2023.

Michigan

$9.87/hour

Minnesota

$8.21/hour – For small employers.

Minneapolis

$12.0/hour – For employers with 100 or fewer employees. Increases to $13.50 in 2022; $14.50 in 2023; and $15/hour in 2024.

St. Paul

$10/hour – For employers with five or fewer employees.

Mississippi

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

Missouri

$10.30/hour – Increases to $11.15/hour in 2022 and then to $12/hour in 2023.

Montana

$8.75/hour

Nebraska

$9/hour

Nevada

$9.75 (without employee health benefits); $8.75/hour (with qualified employee health benefits) – Increases to $10.50/hour and $9.50/hour in 2022; $11.25/hour and $10.25/hour in 2023, and $12/hour and $11/hour in 2024.

New Hampshire

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

New Jersey

$11.10/hour – Applies to employers with less than six employees. For employers with six or more employees, the rate is $12/hour.

New Mexico

$10.50/hour

Albuquerque

$10.50/hour

Bernalillo County

$9.35/hour – Note that New Mexico’s state rate will be higher in 2021 and will be the applicable rate

Las Cruces

$10.50/hour

Santa Fe (City and County)

$12.10/hour – Annual living wage increases occur on March 1.

New York

$12.50/hour – Annual increases will continue until the rate reaches $15/hour. Starting in 2021, these increases will be published before October 1. They 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

$14/hour – Increases to $15/hour on December 30, 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 $319,000 per year ($8.80/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/hour – Increases to $14.75/hour in 2022.

Standard

$12.75/hour – Increases to $13.50/hour in 2022.

Non-urban counties

$12/hour – Increases to $12.50/hour in 2022.

Pennsylvania

$7.25/hour

Rhode Island

$11.50/hour

South Carolina

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

South Dakota

$9.45/hour

Tennessee

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

Texas

$7.25/hour

Utah

$7.25/hour

Vermont

$11.75/hour

Virginia

$9.50/hour – Increases to $11/hour in 2022; and $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

$13.69/hour

Seattle

$16.69/hour – For employers with 500 or fewer employees. If you pay $2.25/hour toward medical benefits, the minimum wage drops to $15/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/hour

Belmont

$15.90/hour

Berkeley

$16.07/hour – Indexed to inflation

Burlingame

$15/hour

Cupertino

$15.65/hour

Daly City

$15/hour

El Cerrito

$15.61/hour

Emeryville

$16.84/hour

Freemont

$15/hour for small employers

Half Moon Bay

$15/hour

Hayward

$14/hour

Los Altos

$15.65/hour

Los Angeles (city and county)

$15/hour for small employers

Malibu

$15/hour

Menlo Park

$15.25/hour

Milpitas

$15.40/hour – Indexed to inflation

Mountain View

$16.30/hour

Novato

$14/hour

Oakland

$14.36/hour

Palo Alto

$15.65/hour

Pasadena

$15/hour for small employers

Petaluma

$15.20/hour

Redwood City

$15.62/hour

Richmond

$15.21/hour – If you pay at least $1.50/hour towards an employee’s medical benefits plan, which allows them to receive employer-compensated care from a licensed physician, you can pay that worker $1.50/hour less than the minimum wage.

San Carlos

$15.24/hour

San Diego

$14/hour

San Francisco (city and county)

$16.07/hour

San Jose

$15.45/hour

San Leandro

$15/hour

San Mateo

$15.62/hour

Santa Clara

$15.65/hour

Santa Monica

$15/hour for small employers

Santa Rosa

$15.20/hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees.

Sonoma

$14/hour

South San Francisco

$15.24/hour

Sunnyvale

$16.30/hour