United States Minimum Wage Calculator 2024

There is a minimum amount that employers must pay their staff on an hourly basis. This is set by the government and currently stands at $7.25 per hour, but many states have their own minimum wage.

The rate set centrally is known as the federal minimum wage and has been at the rate of $7.25 per hour since 2009. It is set by congressional act and is reviewed by Congress. Employees must be paid this as a minimum.

In addition to the federal wage, there are rates set in other states. 45 of the United States have their own state-wide minimum wage legislation. These are set by the governing bodies of each state, and they deal with setting the rates and decreeing the laws around minimum wage in their boundary. Whichever is the higher of the state minimum wage and the federal minimum wage is the one that employers must pay their hourly staff.

If an employee is in a state where a higher state minimum than $7.25 then they are entitled to the state minimum wage. If there is no state minimum wage or a wage that is lower than $7.25 then the employees in that state are entitled to $7.25 per hour.

Making use of our United States Minimum Wage Calculator

We make it easy for you to understand the minimum wage in any given state. Use our calculator –

• Choose the state from the drop-down list,
• You can also enter your hours worked per week if you wish (optional).

Double check the information that you have entered and then press 'Calculate' to see the minimum wage in your state. See how this works below.

Note: All necessary data for calculations are provided by the U.S. Department of Labor and are updated on Good Calculators annually.

What does the Federal Minimum Wage mean to me?

The government has set the federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour.

This is the absolute minimum that any worker (except those in exempt categories) should be paid by their employer in the United States. This is used across the country and accepted as the minimum an employee can be paid. So, it will override any laws state by state that may not have been reviewed for some time and show a lower minimum wage. All employers in all states must pay at least $7.25 per hour.