New Jersey Minimum Wage: Rates, Tip Credit, Dates
New Jersey minimum wage is $15.92 an hour. Get the small employer, tipped, farm and long-term care rates, the poster rule, and the next increase.
New Jersey Minimum Wage
The five state rates, the tip credit, the carve-outs, and what moves on January 1
The first January I ran payroll for an hourly team in a state that indexes its minimum wage, I learned about the increase from an employee rather than from my own calendar. She had checked her own math before I checked mine, and her first check of the year was short. That conversation cost me more goodwill than the raise would have cost in payroll.
New Jersey is one of those states. The rate moves every January 1 whether or not anyone sends you a reminder, and it does not move as a single number. Five separate figures sit in the state schedule, and the one that binds your business depends on headcount, industry, and whether your people take tips.
This page carries all five, sourced from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. It stays narrow on purpose. For sick leave, WARN, NJLAD and the rest of the state picture, the New Jersey HR compliance guide is the place to go.
What New Jersey Employers Must Pay Per Hour
The New Jersey minimum wage is $15.92 per hour for most employees, effective January 1, 2026. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced that figure on October 1, 2025, a 43 cent increase over the $15.49 rate that ran through 2025.
Four other rates run alongside it. Employers with fewer than six employees and seasonal employers pay $15.23. Farm workers paid hourly or by the piece get $14.20. Direct care staff at long-term care facilities get $18.92, which the published chart keeps exactly $3.00 above the general rate. Tipped employees get a cash wage of $6.05.
| Effective | Most employers | Fewer than 6 or seasonal | Farm work | Tipped cash wage | Long-term care direct care |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2022 | $13.00 | $11.90 | $11.05 | $5.13 | $16.00 |
| Jan 1, 2023 | $14.13 | $12.93 | $12.01 | $5.26 | $17.13 |
| Jan 1, 2024 | $15.13 | $13.73 | $12.81 | $5.26 | $18.13 |
| Jan 1, 2025 | $15.49 | $14.53 | $13.40 | $5.62 | $18.49 |
| Jan 1, 2026 | $15.92 | $15.23 | $14.20 | $6.05 | $18.92 |
That table is the department chart, published as MW-570 and reprinted on the required workplace poster. The full version back to 2020 is on the NJDOL minimum wage chart. Pull the current one every January rather than trusting a copy you saved.
The small employer test is stricter than a headcount taken on one convenient day. Under N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4, you qualify only if you had fewer than six employees on every working day during a majority of the workweeks this year and on every working day during at least 48 workweeks last year. Cross six people for most of a year and the standard rate applies.
When the Rate Changes Next
The next increase lands on January 1 of next year, and the amount is not published yet. Article I, Paragraph 23 of the New Jersey Constitution requires an annual adjustment tied to the increase in the CPI-W for the 12 months ending September 30. The department calculates it and announces in the fall, as it did on October 1 for the current rate.
Two categories carry a scheduled catch-up step on top of that inflation adjustment, which is worth knowing if you run a small or seasonal operation.
| Category | What happens on the next January 1 | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Most employers | Rises by the CPI-W increase for the 12 months ending September 30. Figure announced in the fall. | N.J. Constitution, Art. I, Para. 23 |
| Fewer than 6 employees or seasonal | Gets the same increase as the general rate plus half the gap between $15.00 and the 2026 general rate, then merges with the general rate in 2028 | N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4(c) |
| Farm work, hourly or piece rate | Rises 80 cents by statute, which takes $14.20 to $15.00, and converges with the general rate by 2030 | N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4(d) |
| Tipped cash wage | Rises by the same dollar amount as the general rate, because the $9.87 tip credit is fixed | N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4(e) |
| Long-term care direct care staff | Has tracked $3.00 above the general rate on every published chart since 2021 | NJDOL minimum wage chart MW-570 |
The half-gap step for small and seasonal employers works out to 46 cents on top of whatever the general increase turns out to be, because the 2026 general rate is $15.92 and the statute measures from $15.00. Budget for it. A five-person shop should expect a bigger jump than its larger neighbors for the next two Januaries, and then no gap at all.
If you operate in more than one state, the pattern of annual indexed increases now covers roughly a third of the country. The state increase calendar tracks who moves and when.
Tipped Employees and the New Jersey Tip Credit
New Jersey allows a tip credit of up to $9.87 per hour, which leaves a required cash wage of $6.05 per hour as of January 1, 2026. The department confirms the $6.05 cash figure in its wage and hour FAQ. Cash wage plus tips must reach $15.92 for every hour worked, and if tips fall short in a given workweek you owe the difference in cash.
One detail catches employers out more than any other. The $9.87 credit is written into the statute as a fixed dollar amount for 2024 and every year after, so it does not rise with inflation. When the state rate went from $15.49 to $15.92, the entire 43 cents landed on the cash wage, taking it from $5.62 to $6.05. Assume the same next January.
Tips are the property of the employee. The business cannot keep any portion of them, and a valid tip pool can only redistribute tips among employees. The mechanics of proving the credit, including the federal notice rule that applies before you take it, are covered in the guide to tipped minimum wage.
City and County Minimum Wage Rates in New Jersey
There are none. New Jersey runs a single statewide schedule, and no city or county publishes its own general minimum wage for private employers. The rate in Newark is the rate in Jersey City is the rate in Cape May. This is the short section on this page, and it should be, because the honest answer is one line long.
| Question | Answer for New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Does any city set its own rate? | No |
| Does any county set its own rate? | No |
| Highest rate anywhere in the state | $15.92, statewide, most employers |
| Only local wage rules that exist | A county or municipality may set a higher standard for its own vendors, contractors and subcontractors, under N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4(h) |
That last row is the one exception, and it is not a general wage floor. It reaches you only through a contract you sign with a public body, so read the contract terms if you do work for a New Jersey agency or municipality. The federal consolidated minimum wage table lists local rates for states that have them and lists none for New Jersey. For how other states handle city rates, see the state-by-state overview.
Industry Carve-Outs: Farms, Long-Term Care, Food Service
New Jersey has two real industry rates and one industry that people expect to find and will not. Long-term care facility direct care staff have their own floor at $18.92 per hour, $3.00 above the general rate. Farm workers paid hourly or by the piece are on a slower schedule at $14.20, converging with the general rate by 2030.
There is no fast food minimum wage in New Jersey. No wage council sets a separate rate for quick service restaurants the way one does in California, and no healthcare rate applies outside long-term care direct care roles. A fast food crew member in New Jersey earns the standard $15.92, or the tipped structure if they customarily receive tips.
Food service, hotels and motels, first processing of farm products, and seasonal amusement do sit under state wage orders at N.J.A.C. 12:56-11.1 and following. Those orders do not create a lower number. They confirm that employees in those occupations must be paid not less than the statutory rate, which matters mostly because it closes the door on arguments that a seasonal boardwalk job falls outside the law.
Youth, Student, and Training Wages
New Jersey has no youth subminimum wage in the way employers usually imagine one. There is no lower teenage rate you can offer a 16 year old in a shop or a kitchen. What the statute has instead is a set of exemptions and two reduced rates, all of them narrow.
The training wage is 90 percent of the applicable minimum, and it runs for the first 120 hours of work only. Four conditions apply together under N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.4: the occupation must be one where the employee has no previous similar or related experience, the employee must be enrolled in an established training program meeting the standards the commissioner sets, you cannot use trainees to displace or cut the hours of current staff, and you must make a good faith effort to keep the employee on at the full rate afterward.
The student rate is a different animal. A college or university may pay a full-time student it enrolls at not less than 85 percent of the effective minimum wage, per the department summary of state wage and hour law. That rate belongs to the school as employer. It does not travel to a business that happens to hire a student.
On minors, the wage and hour abstract exempts workers under 18 from the statutory rate, then takes most of that exemption straight back. Minors working in food service, retail, beauty culture, laundry and cleaning, light manufacturing and apparel occupations are covered at the wage order rates, and vocational school graduates holding a special permit are covered at the statutory rate. Those categories cover nearly every job a small business offers a teenager, so plan on paying the full rate and check the separate child labor rules on hours and permits.
The Minimum Wage Poster Requirement
New Jersey requires you to display the Wage and Hour Law Abstract, form MW-220, in a conspicuous and accessible place at every worksite. The poster carries the full rate schedule, which is why it is one of the two state postings that must be swapped out each January when the numbers change.
The current edition and every other required state posting are free from the NJDOL employer poster packet. Order printed copies at no charge from the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance if you would rather not print your own. Failing to post is its own violation, separate from any wage owed.
How the New Jersey Rate Relates to the Federal Floor
The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since July 24, 2009. New Jersey sits $8.67 above it, so the state rate is the number you pay. Where a state rate exceeds the federal rate, the employer pays the higher one, and the federal rate becomes a floor that never comes into play in practice.
The state statute also contains a ratchet in the other direction. If Congress ever raises the federal minimum above the New Jersey rate, N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4 lifts the state rate to the federal level and applies future CPI increases on top of the higher base. New Jersey employers would never fall back to a lower state number.
Federal law still governs plenty of what surrounds the rate: overtime, hours worked, recordkeeping, and the notice rules around a tip credit. Our federal minimum wage guide covers that side rather than repeating it here.
What to Do When a Rate Rises
Treat a rate change as a payroll project with four moving parts, not a single field to edit. The hourly rate is the visible one. The overtime rate, the salary basis check for anyone near the floor, and the poster all move with it.
Keep the calculation you ran. New Jersey wage claims reach back years, and the cheapest defense is a dated worksheet showing the rate you applied and the date you applied it. Our note on payroll recordkeeping covers retention, and the overtime guide covers the regular rate calculation in detail.
If tracking who sits at which rate across a growing hourly team is the part that keeps slipping, that is the kind of thing FirstHR was built to hold. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a payroll provider, so it keeps the employee record straight and hands your payroll process a clean set of facts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum wage in New Jersey?
It is $15.92 per hour for most employees, effective January 1, 2026. That figure comes from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, which announced it on October 1, 2025. Four other state rates sit alongside it. Employers with fewer than six employees and seasonal employers pay $15.23. Farm workers paid hourly or by the piece get $14.20. Direct care staff at long-term care facilities get $18.92. Tipped employees get a cash wage of $6.05 against a maximum tip credit of $9.87. Whichever rate applies to your business, you pay it for every hour worked, and you pay it statewide. There is no lower rate anywhere in New Jersey and no higher local rate either.
Do employers with fewer than six employees pay a lower rate?
Yes, but the test is stricter than a headcount on any given day, and it does not reach tipped staff. Under N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4, a small employer is one that had fewer than six employees on every working day during a majority of the workweeks in the current year and on every working day during at least 48 workweeks of the prior year. Meet that test and the rate is $15.23 rather than $15.92. Employees who customarily and regularly receive tips are carved out of the small employer scale by the same statute, so a five-person restaurant owes tipped servers the standard $15.92 total, not the small employer figure. The two rates converge in 2028.
What do I pay a tipped employee in New Jersey?
The cash wage is $6.05 per hour and the maximum tip credit is $9.87 per hour, which adds up to the standard $15.92. The credit is set in dollars by statute at $9.87 for 2024 and every year after, so it does not rise with inflation. Every future increase in the state rate therefore lands entirely on the cash wage you pay. If tips in a given workweek do not carry the employee to $15.92 per hour, you owe the shortfall in cash. Tips belong to the employee, and you cannot keep any portion of them for the business. Track tips by workweek so you can prove the total, because the burden of showing the credit was earned sits with the employer.
Does any New Jersey city or county set its own minimum wage?
No. New Jersey runs one statewide schedule and no municipality or county publishes its own general minimum wage for private employers. The rate in Newark is the rate in Jersey City is the rate in Cape May. The federal Department of Labor consolidated table lists local rates for states that have them, such as Oregon and New York, and lists none for New Jersey. There is one narrow exception, and it is not a general wage floor. N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4(h) lets a county or municipality set a higher wage standard for its own vendors, contractors and subcontractors. If you hold a public contract in New Jersey, read the contract, because it can carry a rate above the state figure.
Can I pay a training wage or a student rate?
Both exist in New Jersey, and both are narrow. The training wage is 90 percent of the applicable minimum, payable only for the first 120 hours of work, only in an occupation where the employee has no previous similar or related experience, and only while the employee is enrolled in an established on-the-job or other training program that meets the standards the commissioner sets by regulation. You also cannot use it to displace or cut the hours of anyone already on the payroll. The student rate is separate and even narrower: a college or university may pay a full-time student it enrolls at not less than 85 percent of the effective minimum. That one is for the school as employer, not for any business that happens to hire a student.
When does the New Jersey minimum wage go up again?
January 1 of next year, and the amount is not published yet. Article I, Paragraph 23 of the New Jersey Constitution requires an annual adjustment tied to the increase in the CPI-W for the 12 months ending September 30, and the department announces the resulting figure in the fall. The 2026 rate was announced on October 1, 2025. Two categories carry an extra scheduled step on top of that adjustment. Small and seasonal employers get the general increase plus half the gap between $15.00 and the 2026 general rate, and the small employer rate merges with the standard rate in 2028. The farm rate rises 80 cents by statute, which takes $14.20 to $15.00.
What happens if I keep paying the old rate after January 1?
You owe the difference, and New Jersey treats underpayment as more than a bookkeeping error. The state wage and hour law is enforced by the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance, a violation is a disorderly persons offense, and the commissioner can assess administrative penalties on top of the wages owed plus an administrative fee of 10 to 25 percent of the amount due to employees. The practical exposure is usually bigger than the raw hourly gap, because an understated hourly rate also understates the overtime rate for every hour over 40 in that workweek. Fix it by running a corrective payroll for the affected weeks rather than folding the difference into a later check.