Minimum Wage - New York | Labor Law Library

New York State's minimum wage increased to $16 on January 1, 2024, with a 50-cent increase scheduled each year in 2025 and 2026. This applies to employees outside of New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties, except for fast food employees.

Minimum wage rates differ based on industry and region;

Home Care Workers
The minimum wage for home care aides is $18.55 per hour in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties ("downstate"); and $17.55 per hour for the remainder of New York state.

Increases to the home care worker minimum wage are scheduled as follows:

January 1, 2025: $19.10 per hour, downstate; $18.10 per hour, the remainder of New York state
January 1, 2026: $19.65 per hour, downstate; $18.65 per hour, the remainder of New York state

Fast Food Employees
The minimum wage for fast food employees working in both New York City and the state is $15 per hour.

Tipped Employees
The minimum cash wage for tipped employees are as follows:

Service employees (other than at resort hotels) covered by the Hospitality Wage Order:

Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties: $13.35 per hour as of January 1, 2024
The rest of the state: $12.50 per hour as of January 1, 2024
New York City: $13.35 per hour as of January 1, 2024

Food service employees:

Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties: $10.65 per hour as of January 1, 2024
The rest of the state: $10 per hour as of January 1, 2024
New York City: $10.65 per hour as of January 1, 2024

New York has several municipal minimum wages. The highest applicable rate should always be paid.

Tipped Employees

Employees who receive tips may be paid a cash wage greater than 2/3 of the state or local minimum wage (rounded to the nearest 5¢).

** The information in this content was current at the time of writing. For the latest wage information, please see our updated resource.

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