Minnesota Minimum Wage Guide for 2026

Minnesota Minimum Wage - Historical Rates Table

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Local Minnesota Minimum Wage

Minnesota has varying minimum wage requirements depending on the locality. Here are all the minimum wage rates for localities in the state:

Minneapolis Minimum Wage

On December 1, 2017, the Minneapolis City Council passed the Minneapolis Municipal Minimum Wage Ordinance, which initiated a scheduled increase of the city's minimum wage that started on January 1, 2018, and continued up to July 1, 2022. Since July 1, 2020, the minimum wage is tied to a cost-of-living adjustment each year, capped at a 2.5% increase.

Effective January 1, 2026, the Minneapolis minimum wage is $16.37 per hour. All employees working at least 2 hours per workweek are entitled to the local minimum wage. Employees working less than 2 hours a workweek must be given the state minimum wage instead.

All full-time, part-time, seasonal, temporary, or employees working for "temp agencies" are subject to the Minneapolis minimum wage. All federal, state, and independent contractors are not covered under the minimum wage ordinance.

Tips and gratuities are not counted towards the minimum wage; all employees working for tips must still be paid the local minimum wage rate.

Mirroring the state's schedule, on July 1, 2024, Minneapolis transitioned the minimum wage to be a single rate instead of two separate rates dependent on employer size.

The Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights provides an online address lookup tool for Minneapolis to see if a business is within the city limits and, therefore, subject to the local ordinance.

St. Paul Minimum Wage

The City of St. Paul passed the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Chapter 224) on November 11, 2018. Since then, a scheduled increase was set on July 1, 2022, to raise the minimum wage for all employers in the city to $15 per hour by July 2027. Some exceptions exclusive to St. Paul may apply, altering the minimum wage rate requirements for minor employees and employees in training / apprenticeships.

Unlike the rest of Minnesota, St. Paul's minimum wage is still dependent on employer size, which is categorized into the following based on the number of employees:

• Macro Businesses: Over 10,001 employees
• Large Businesses: Between 101 - 10,000 employees
• Small Businesses: Between 6 - 100 employees
• Micro Businesses: 5 or fewer employees

Businesses in St. Paul must be able to calculate the size of their business by counting all full-time, part-time, joint, and temporary employees. Generally, the business size calculated is based on the average number of employees per week during the previous calendar year. This includes employees that are not located in St. Paul, with an exception to restauranters with fewer than 10 locations. Business owners, board members, and independent contractors are NOT counted when determining the employer size. Additionally, an employee's immigration status does not impact coverage under the ordinance.

The City of St. Paul's Labor Standards Division provides employers with a guide to calculating business size to help determine the required minimum wage rate.

Regardless of business size, tips and gratuities are not counted towards the minimum wage; all employees working for tips must still be paid the local minimum wage rate.

St. Paul Minimum Wage for Minor Employees

All employees in St. Paul between the ages of 14 and 17 must be paid 85% of the "small employer" minimum wage rate for his or her first 90 days, with the hourly amount rounded to the nearest nickel. After 90 consecutive workdays have passed, minor employees must be paid the standard city minimum wage based on his or her employer's business size.

Effective July 1, 2025, minor employees must be paid $12.75 per hour. In accordance with the city's minimum wage schedule, the minimum wage for minor employees will be adjusted on July 1 each year.

Additionally, all employees under the age of 20 working under a city-approved training / apprenticeship program must also earn 85% of the "small employer" minimum wage rate.

For an employee to qualify as working for a city-approved program, he or she must be working under a program that receives local, state, or federal grant funding.

For programs that DO NOT receive funding from an approved government body, the program must include the following:

• Participants working at least 15 hours a week for at least 6 weeks if not attending school
  • If the participant is attending school, he or she must be working for at least 10 hours a week
• Participants with a minimum of 6 hours of training in the following:
  • Communication skills
  • Teamwork / collaboration
  • Time management
    
  • Two of either job basics, work ethic, or problem-solving skills
• Participants possessing at least one of the following:
  
  • A professional development opportunity within the first 90 days
  • At least 1 job shadowing opportunity within the first 90 days
  • An opportunity to earn academic credit for his or her participation
• Supervisors to have completed a required 2 hours of training in cultural competency, youth mentorship, and project-based learning
  • The supervisor must also undergo weekly check-ins with participants and collaborate on a project-based learning plan

Minnesota Training Minimum Wage

Employers are allowed to pay employees under the age of 20 training wages during his or her first 90 consecutive work days. Effective January 1, 2026, Minnesota employers can provide $9.31 per hour as training wages to applicable employees.

Minnesota Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees

Unlike most states, Minnesota does not allow employers to take a tip credit against an employee's wage. Therefore, effective January 1, 2026, tipped employees are entitled to the full Minnesota minimum wage rate of $11.41 per hour in addition to any tips he or she may earn.

Tax on Tips Update from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act allows applicable employees, including those self-employed, to claim a tax reduction on qualified tips received from his or her occupation. The tip tax deduction is effective from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028.

The occupation must be listed by the IRS as “customarily and regularly” receiving tips and must be reported on a Form W-2 or other applicable statements that report qualified tips (ex: Form 4137 for tips not reported to the employer).

An employee can deduct an annual maximum amount of $25,000. For self-employed individuals, the deduction amount cannot exceed his or her net income from the trade or business where the tips were earned. If an employee’s modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) exceeds $150,000, or $300,000 for employees filing taxes jointly, the amount allowed to be deducted will be reduced by $100 for each $1,000 earned above the MAGI.

To be eligible for the tip tax deduction, employees must include a Social Security number on the tax return for the given tax year. If married, the employee must also file jointly to remain eligible. Even if individuals opt for a standard deduction (vs. itemized deductions) on a tax return, the individual is still eligible for the annual maximum deduction for tipped wages.

Note that self-employed individuals categorized in a Specific Trade or Business (SSTB) under section 199A are NOT eligible.

Tip Reporting Requirements

All employers must file information returns to the IRS or Social Security Administration (SSA), as well as deliver the applicable forms, including a W-2, to employees that show the cash tips received and the occupation of the tip recipient.

Overtime Pay

The state of Minnesota adopted its own overtime compensation rules separate from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. If an employee works more than 48 hours in an average seven-day period, the employee is to receive an overtime rate of 1.5x of the employee's regular hourly rate.

If an employer or employees are not covered under Minnesota law, then employees must be paid for overtime if he or she works more than 40 hours in an average seven-day period, mirroring federal regulations.

Some employees are specifically exempt from overtime pay rules in Minnesota, which include workers based on the Federal FLSA classifications. Additionally, Minnesota exempts overtime pay for these employees:

• Healthcare workers that have agreed with his or her employer to use a 14-day rule for overtime compensation
  • Overtime pay is 1.5x the worker's rate for hours exceeding 8 in a single day and 80 within a 14-day period
• Motor vehicle salespeople and mechanics selling or servicing automobiles, trailers, trucks, or farm equipment that are paid on a commission basis
  • Affects workers that are employed at non-manufacturing businesses primarily involved in selling vehicles 
• Farm silo construction workers involved in the installation of an on-premises farm silo or related equipment, if paid on a per unit / piece rate basis
  • The worker's hourly earnings must exceed the current state minimum wage rate in order to apply 
• Air carrier workers covered by the federal Railway Labor Act (Title II), if hours exceeded, are voluntary rather than employer-mandated
• Seasonal employees employed at a carnival, circus, fair, or ski facility

Minnesota Minimum Wage Exemptions

Employees exept from the minimum wage in Minnesota include workers based on the Federal FLSA classifications.

Additionally, Minnesota highlights specific workers that are not covered under the state's minimum wage law, which include:

• Agricultural workers, if paid on a salary basis greater than $838.64 per week
• Agricultural workers under the age of 18 employed, accompanied by one of his or her parents / legal guardians, on a farm, performing corn detassling or hand field work
• Seasonal staff for organized resident / day camps under an issued permit from the state commissioner of health
• Volunteer non-profit organization workers
• Elected officials for a local government body or individuals serving on any government board, commission, or committee
• Police and firefighters
• Employees of a local government body that are ineligible for membership in the Public Employees Retirement Association
• Taxicab drivers
• Babysitting
• Workers under 18 years of age that are part of a recreational program working less than 20 hours per workweek for a municipality
• Workers employed by the state as natural resource manager / conservation officers
• Workers subject to the US Department of Transportation provisions
  • Includes drivers, helpers, mechanics, and loaders
• Workers employed on a vessel as "seafarers"
  • Includes pilots, sailors, engineers, radio operators, firefighters, security guards, pursers, surgeons, cooks, and stewards
• Individuals living in a county-owned single-family residence that serves as a home school extension to supervise children
• Clergy members with religious duties in schools, hospitals, and other non-profit institutions operated under the religious order or a church

Minnesota Meal and Rest Breaks

Minnesota has unique meal and rest break requirements detailed under the MFLSA.

Recent changes to the break rules went into effect on January 1, 2026, with adjustments including:

• Defined time periods for both meal and rest breaks (previously "sufficient time")
• Adjusted the frequency for when employees are allowed to take meal breaks (previously 8 or more consecutive hours)
• Expanded the reasons for taking a rest break (previously only allowed for restroom breaks)

Meal Break Requirements

Employers must provide employees with at least a 30-minute meal break for every 6 consecutive hours worked for the purpose of eating a meal. Employers are not required to compensate for meal periods and may require that meal periods be taken only on the premises. However, if a meal period lasts less than 20 minutes, the employer must compensate the employee for that time.

Employers preventing employees from taking a meal break can be liable for the break time missed at the employee's regular rate of pay plus an equal amount in liquidated damages.

Meal break rules for employees under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) can differ from the state's. If a CBA does not have special rules for meal breaks, the state provisions then apply to the employee. Employees under a CBA may also establish an agreed-upon meal period time separately with his or her employer.

Rest Break Requirements

Employers must also provide employees with at least 15 minutes of rest for every 4 consecutive hours worked for the purpose of using the restroom or taking a break equal to the time period allotted. In the event a rest break lasts longer than 15 minutes, an employer is not required to compensate the employee for the time taken. Otherwise, rest breaks under 20 minutes must be counted as hours worked and paid at the employee's regular rate of pay.

Mirroring meal break rules, employees under a CBA may separately establish an agreed-upon break period time with his or her employer if no specified rest break rules are applicable under the CBA's rules.

Minnesota Minimum Wage Posting Requirements

For compliance with Minnesota labor laws, employers must visibly display the Minnesota minimum wage in a conspicuous location that all employees have access to in the workplace. An all-in-one Minnesota Labor Law Poster will cover all the required state and federal labor law postings.

Note that each time the minimum wage is updated, the labor law poster must be replaced in the workplace. A labor law poster subscription service will automatically provide updated mandatory notices that need to be posted for employees as additional changes take place with Minnesota's state or local laws.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Non-compliance with the Minnesota minimum wage falls under the Minnesota Wage Theft Prevention Act, created to protect workers and add criminal penalties for employers that commit wage theft.

The Minnesota DLI can require employers to pay the following civil penalties:

• Any wages or commissions owed to the employee
• The amount equal to the wages or commissions owed to the employee
• Compensatory damages incurred by an employee
• Civil penalties for repeated willful violations
• An employee's wages equal to either his or her average daily wages or 1/15 of the commissions earned for each day wages are not paid
• $5,000 for each time an employer fails to submit or deliver records to the Minnesota DLI
• $5,000 for each time an employer fails to keep or maintain records required by the minimum wage law

Employers found to have violated the Wage Payment and Collection Act purposefully can expect the following criminal penalties:

• Wages Stolen is +$35,000: A maximum prison sentence of 20 years and / or a maximum fine of $100,000
• Wages Stolen is +$5,000: A maximum prison sentence of 10 years and / or a maximum fine of $20,000
• Wages Stolen is $1,001 - $5,000: A maximum prison sentence of 5 years and / or a maximum fine of $10,000
• Wages Stolen is $501 - $1,000: A maximum prison sentence of 1 year and / or a maximum fine of $3,000

Final Thoughts on Minnesota Minimum Wage

Businesses struggling to maintain minimum wage compliance or manage payroll may want to consider outsourcing payroll to a Minnesota payroll services company. Areas for additional knowledge and learning include the basics of payroll and what to know about modern payroll software.  

To learn more about how Employer Pass is helping countless businesses maintain minimum wage compliance, contact us today or use the find a provider tool.