Utah Minimum Wage: Rate, Tip Credit, and Rules
Utah’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, unchanged since July 2009. Tip credit, minor training wage, local preemption, and posting rules for employers.
Utah Minimum Wage
$7.25 an hour since July 24, 2009, no city or county rates, a $2.13 tipped cash wage, and a $4.25 training wage for minors
Every time I help a Utah owner set up their first payroll run, the same question comes first: what am I actually required to pay? In most states that answer takes a paragraph and a calendar. In Utah it takes one line. The rate is $7.25 an hour and it has not moved since July 24, 2009.
That is not an accident of neglect. Utah wrote the answer into statute twice over. The Labor Commission may set a state rate by rule, but it is forbidden from setting one above the federal floor, and cities and counties are barred from going higher on their own. So the number stays put until Congress moves.
What follows is the whole Utah wage floor picture: the rate, the tip credit, the training wage for minors, the exemptions, and the posters. For overtime, final pay, leave, and the rest of the state picture, the Utah HR compliance guide covers that ground and this page will not repeat it.
The Current Utah Minimum Wage
Utah’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, effective July 24, 2009. The Utah Labor Commission publishes that figure on its Wage Claim Unit page, and Utah Administrative Code R610-1-3(A) sets it out as the final step of a three-step schedule adopted alongside the federal increases of the same period.
| Effective date | Utah minimum wage | Note |
|---|---|---|
| September 8, 2007 | $5.85 | First step in Utah Admin Code R610-1-3(A) |
| July 24, 2008 | $6.55 | Second step, tracking the federal increase |
| July 24, 2009 | $7.25 | Third step, still the rate in force |
| Current | $7.25 | Unchanged for the entire period since |
There is a wrinkle worth understanding, because it explains why Utah employers rarely think about the state act at all. Utah Code § 34-40-104 exempts from the state minimum wage any employee who is already entitled to a minimum wage under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Most staff at a small Utah business are federally covered, so their $7.25 comes from federal law and the state act fills the gaps behind it.
For a small employer this distinction changes nothing about the number on the paycheck. It changes where a wage claim gets filed and which agency investigates. State-covered claims go to the Labor Commission’s Wage Claim Unit, which can treat a shortfall affecting several employees as a class action and impose penalties under Utah Code § 34-40-204.
The Next Scheduled Increase
No increase is scheduled. Utah does not index its minimum wage to inflation, has no step schedule left to run, and does not give the Labor Commission authority to raise the rate on its own initiative.
Utah Code § 34-40-103 is the reason. It permits the commission to establish a minimum wage by rule, then caps that wage at the federal minimum wage in effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act. It also directs the commission to review the rate at least every three years and specifically whenever the federal minimum wage changes. That review requirement is the pipe through which any future federal increase would flow into Utah rule.
In practice, a Utah employer watching for a wage increase should be watching Congress, not the Utah Legislature. Our federal minimum wage increases page tracks that side.
Tipped Employees and the Tip Credit
Utah allows a tip credit. The minimum cash wage for a tipped employee is $2.13 per hour, and the maximum credit an employer can claim against tips is $5.12 per hour. Utah runs its own tip credit rule at Utah Administrative Code R610-1, separate from the federal rule, so the conditions are worth reading rather than assuming.
| Item | Amount or rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Full Utah minimum wage | $7.25 per hour | Utah Admin Code R610-1-3(A) |
| Minimum cash wage for tipped staff | $2.13 per hour | Utah Admin Code R610-1-4(B) |
| Maximum tip credit | $5.12 per hour | The gap between $7.25 and $2.13 |
| Tips required before any credit applies | At least $30 per month, received and reported | Utah Admin Code R610-1-4(A) |
| If cash plus tips fall short | Employer raises the cash wage to close the gap | Utah Admin Code R610-1-4(B) |
| Compulsory service charges | Not tips. They are the employer’s gross receipts | Utah Admin Code R610-1-4(C) |
| Credit card processing fee on a charged tip | May be deducted, but no more than the card company charges | Utah Admin Code R610-1-4(F) |
| Pay period the tip counts in | The period in which the tip was earned | Utah Admin Code R610-1-4(G) |
Three conditions catch Utah restaurant owners more often than the arithmetic does. The employer must inform the affected employee of the tip credit at the time of hire. Any tip pooling or sharing arrangement has to be in writing and handed to each affected employee at hire or before it starts. And dishwashers, chefs, cooks, and janitors are not tipped employees under the Utah rule, so they cannot be paid the $2.13 cash wage and cannot be put into a mandated tip pool.
If a service charge is imposed on the customer and the employee receives no tips from it, the employer owes the full minimum wage and any overtime on top. The mechanics of running this correctly across a shift are covered in our guide to the tipped minimum wage.
City and County Rates in Utah
There are no city or county minimum wage rates in Utah, and there cannot be any. Utah Code § 34-40-106 removes the power from local government entirely, and it closes the obvious side doors as well.
| What a Utah city, town, or county may not do | Effect on employers |
|---|---|
| Establish, mandate, or require a minimum wage above the federal rate | Salt Lake City, Provo, Park City, and every county sit at $7.25 |
| Require a person who contracts with it to pay employees above the federal rate | No local living wage clause in municipal contracts |
| Prefer a vendor in a goods or services contract because that vendor pays above the minimum | No procurement scoring advantage for paying more |
The statute carves out one exception to the contractor limit: it does not apply where federal law requires a specified wage on a project funded in whole or in part with federal funds. That is prevailing wage territory, and it is the only route by which a Utah worksite ends up with a mandated rate above $7.25 that did not come from the employer’s own pay scale.
Exemptions and Industry Carve-Outs
Utah has no fast food wage, no healthcare wage, and no industry-specific rate of any kind. The carve-outs that exist are exemptions from the state minimum wage in Utah Code § 34-40-104, and several of them concern agriculture and seasonal work.
| Exempt from the Utah minimum wage | Practical read |
|---|---|
| Employees already entitled to a minimum wage under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act | Covers most staff at a typical small business |
| Outside sales staff | Field sales, not inside or counter sales |
| A member of the employer’s immediate family | Family-run operations |
| Companionship service for someone unable to care for themselves because of age or infirmity | In-home companion care, not skilled nursing |
| Seasonal staff of nonprofit camping, religious, or recreation programs and nonprofit educational and charitable organizations | Summer camps and similar seasonal nonprofits |
| Range production of livestock, piece rate harvest laborers, farm work under 13 weeks in the prior calendar year, and retired or semiretired people doing incidental work as a condition of living on a farm or ranch | The agricultural carve-outs, each narrowly drawn |
| Seasonal hourly staff of seasonal amusement establishments with permanent structures and facilities | Narrow, and seasonal work alone does not qualify |
| Registered apprentices and students employed by the school in which they are enrolled | Work-study and registered apprenticeship |
Two cautions. First, a state exemption is not a federal exemption. An agricultural or seasonal worker who falls outside Utah Code § 34-40-104 may still be covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, and where both apply the employer follows the standard more favorable to the employee. Second, one of these exemptions carries paperwork: Utah Administrative Code R610-1-3(C) requires an employer claiming the exemption at Utah Code § 34-40-104(1)(k) to give the Labor Commission a statistical report of the average wage paid within 60 days of the end of the regular operating season.
Utah also permits a subminimum wage tied to productivity for a worker whose earning or productive capacity is impaired, under the same statute. That is a narrow authorization with conditions, not a general discount, and it should not be used without checking the current requirements with the Labor Commission. Employers looking at the fast food sector specifically will find no Utah analogue to the fast food minimum wage rules that exist in a handful of other states.
The Training Wage for Minors
Utah allows $4.25 per hour for a minor employee during the first 90 days of employment with an employer, after which the full $7.25 applies. That is Utah Administrative Code R610-1-3(B), which ties back to the Employment of Minors Act at Utah Code § 34-23-301 and to the minimum wage statute at § 34-40-103.
The Labor Commission states the same rule in plain language: minors under 18 must be paid minimum wage, except that an employer may pay a minor $4.25 per hour during the first 90 days of their employment. The 90 days run from the start of employment with that employer.
The training wage sits inside the wider set of rules on hours, school nights, and prohibited occupations for young workers. Utah state limits and federal limits differ, and the stricter one governs. Our guide to child labor laws works through those scheduling limits in detail.
Posting Requirements
Utah has no separate state minimum wage poster. The wage rate reaches the wall through the federal Wage and Hour poster, which carries the line about $7.25 per hour beginning July 24, 2009 together with the overtime, child labor, and tip credit summaries.
The Labor Commission is explicit about what it requires: employers must post two notices, workers’ compensation and occupational safety and health. It publishes those alongside the Employee Polygraph Protection Act notice and a pregnancy accommodation notice on its required posters page, with Spanish versions of the state notices.
| Notice | Who requires it | Carries the wage rate? |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Wage and Hour poster | US Department of Labor | Yes. $7.25 per hour beginning July 24, 2009 |
| Workers’ compensation notice | Utah Labor Commission | No |
| Utah Occupational Safety and Health notice | Utah Labor Commission | No |
| Employee Polygraph Protection Act notice | Federal law, published by the Labor Commission | No |
| Pregnancy and related conditions notice | Utah Antidiscrimination Act, published by the Labor Commission | No |
| Unemployment insurance notice to workers | Utah Department of Workforce Services | No |
All of these are free to download, print, and copy from the agencies that publish them. The posting standard is the same across all of them: display where employees can readily see them, which in a small office means the break room or wherever the team already looks for schedules, not a binder in a drawer.
Utah and the Federal Floor
Utah’s rate and the federal rate are the same $7.25, and they have been since July 24, 2009, the day the last federal step took effect. The two numbers come from different legal sources that happen to point at the same figure, and Utah law is written to keep them pointing at the same figure.
Because Utah Code § 34-40-103 caps the state rate at the federal one, Utah can never sit above the federal floor and, in the absence of a state rule change, will not sit below it either. The comparison across all fifty states, and the mechanics of which rate applies when a state and the federal government disagree, live on our federal minimum wage guide.
What to Do When a Rate Rises
A rate change is a payroll project, not a memo. Because Utah moves only when the federal floor moves, the trigger will arrive with a federal effective date, and everything below has to be finished before the first pay period that includes that date.
This is the kind of recurring administrative work that quietly eats a founder’s week. Keeping employee records, pay rates, and signed acknowledgments in one place instead of across a spreadsheet and an inbox is most of the fix, and it is a large part of why I built FirstHR. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a payroll provider, so pair it with whatever runs your payroll.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum wage in Utah?
$7.25 per hour, effective July 24, 2009. Utah Administrative Code R610-1-3(A) sets it as the last of three steps, and the Utah Labor Commission publishes the same figure today. It matches the federal rate because Utah Code § 34-40-103 forbids the state rate from exceeding the federal one.
Can a Utah city or county set its own minimum wage?
No. Utah Code § 34-40-106 bars a city, town, or county from establishing a minimum wage above the federal rate, from requiring its contractors to pay above it, and from favoring vendors in procurement because they pay above it. The one exception is where federal law requires a specified wage on a federally funded project.
What can I pay a tipped employee in Utah?
A cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour, with tips covering the remaining $5.12. The employee must receive and report at least $30 in tips per month, must be told about the tip credit at hire, and any tip pool must be in writing. Dishwashers, chefs, cooks, and janitors are not tipped employees under Utah Administrative Code R610-1-4.
Can I pay a teenager less than the full rate in Utah?
A minor may be paid $4.25 per hour for the first 90 days of employment with you, then the full $7.25. The federal youth wage covers employees under 20 while the Utah rule is written for minors, so check with the Labor Commission before applying it to an 18 or 19 year old.
Is Utah’s minimum wage going up?
No increase is scheduled. There is no inflation index and no remaining step schedule, and the Labor Commission cannot exceed the federal floor. The commission must review the rate at least every three years and whenever the federal minimum wage changes, so a federal increase is the realistic trigger.
Does Utah require a state minimum wage poster?
No. The Labor Commission requires two notices, workers’ compensation and occupational safety and health, and the wage rate itself appears on the federal Wage and Hour poster. The Department of Workforce Services separately requires an unemployment insurance notice to workers.