Washington Minimum Wage: State and Local Rates
Washington’s minimum wage is $17.13 an hour with no tip credit. State and city rates, exemptions, youth pay, posters, and what to do when it rises.
Washington Minimum Wage
The state rate, the city rates, and what to do when they change
A founder running two coffee shops once asked me why her payroll costs jumped when she opened a second location six miles from the first. Nothing about the jobs had changed. The second shop just happened to sit inside a city with its own wage ordinance, and her posted starting pay was suddenly below the legal floor for half her staff.
That is the shape of the minimum wage problem in Washington. The state rate is one of the highest in the country and it moves every January. On top of it, eight local governments run their own ordinances with their own numbers, their own employer size tiers, and in two cases a second increase halfway through the year.
This page covers one thing: what an hour of work has to be paid for in Washington, at the state level and in each city that raises the bar. The wider picture of leave, overtime, termination, and payroll taxes sits in the Washington HR compliance guide.
The Current Washington Rate
The Washington minimum wage is $17.13 per hour, effective January 1, 2026. It applies to workers age 16 and older at every employer in the state, with no exception for small businesses, part time staff, or seasonal hires. Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries publishes and enforces the figure.
L&I announced the rate on September 30, 2025, calling it a 2.8 percent increase over the previous year. The same L&I announcement set the youth rate at $14.56 and the salary threshold for most overtime exempt workers at $1,541.70 a week, or $80,168.40 a year.
Minimum wage in Washington covers all hours worked, and the state reads that phrase broadly. Opening and closing the business, required training, and mandatory meetings are compensable time. So are paid rest breaks, which matters for anyone paid a piece rate or a commission.
| Year | Washington minimum wage | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $14.49 | Annual CPI-W adjustment |
| 2023 | $15.74 | Annual CPI-W adjustment |
| 2024 | $16.28 | Annual CPI-W adjustment |
| 2025 | $16.66 | Annual CPI-W adjustment |
| 2026 | $17.13 | Annual CPI-W adjustment, up 2.8 percent |
The rate ladder above comes from the L&I history of Washington’s minimum wage. The pattern is worth internalizing: the increase is never dramatic, it is never skipped, and it lands on January 1 without any action from the legislature.
When the Rate Changes Next
The next Washington increase takes effect January 1, 2027. The amount has not been published yet. Under RCW 49.46.020, L&I calculates the adjusted rate each September 30 and the new figure takes effect the following January 1.
The adjustment is tied to the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. L&I begins the calculation in mid September, which is why the announcement always lands in the last days of that month. There is no cap and no floor written into the formula beyond the requirement that the rate cannot fall.
Practically, this gives you a three month planning window. The rate is public by October 1, and it applies to your first pay period that includes January 1. If you build annual budgets in the fall, you are budgeting with a known number rather than a guess.
Tipped Employees and Service Charges
Washington allows no tip credit. Tipped employees receive the full $17.13 per hour in cash wages, and tips are added on top. L&I is explicit that tips and service charges are in addition to, and not a part of, an employee’s state hourly minimum wage.
The same treatment applies to automatic service charges added to a bill. Whatever portion of that charge is paid to the employee sits on top of the hourly minimum, and the split has to be disclosed to the customer on the receipt or menu.
Tip pooling is permitted. Salaried exempt managers and business owners cannot participate, though kitchen staff and hourly lead workers can. Employers, supervisors, and managers may accept tips only for services they personally provided. If you are used to a tip credit state, the arithmetic here is genuinely different, and the federal comparison is covered in our guide to minimum wage for tipped employees.
City and County Rates
Eight Washington jurisdictions require more than the state rate: Seattle, Tukwila, Renton, Burien, Everett, SeaTac, Bellingham, and unincorporated King County. Where a local rate is higher, the local rate is what you pay. L&I maintains a summary of local minimum wage rates across the state.
What triggers the local rate is where the work is physically performed, not where your business is registered or where payroll is processed. A delivery driver, a mobile technician, and a caterer can all cross into a higher rate for part of a shift.
| Jurisdiction | Rate in effect | Who it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Bellingham | $19.13 | Covered employers in the city; set at the state rate plus $2.00 |
| Burien (large) | $21.78 | 501 or more employees, per the rate the city publishes |
| Burien (medium) | $20.78 | 16 to 500 employees, per the rate the city publishes |
| Burien (small) | $19.28 | 15 or fewer employees, per the rate the city publishes |
| Everett (large) | $20.77 | More than 500 employees |
| Everett (other covered) | $18.77, then $19.77 | 15 to 499 employees: $18.77 through June 30, $19.77 from July 1 |
| King County, unincorporated (large) | $20.82 | 500 or more employees |
| King County, unincorporated (mid) | $19.82 | 16 to 499 employees, or 15 or fewer with $2M or more gross revenue |
| King County, unincorporated (small) | $18.32 | 15 or fewer employees with under $2M in gross revenue |
| Renton (large) | $21.57 | More than 500 employees |
| Renton (mid-size) | $20.57, then $21.57 | 15 to 500 employees: $20.57 through June 30, $21.57 from July 1 |
| SeaTac | $20.74 | Hospitality and transportation employers only |
| Seattle | $21.30 | All employers, one rate regardless of size |
| Tukwila | $21.65 | 15 or more employees worldwide, or over $2M gross revenue in Tukwila |
Two of these deserve a closer look. Seattle collapsed its tiers on January 1, 2025, so there is now a single rate and small employers can no longer count tips or medical benefit payments toward minimum compensation. Tukwila did something similar on July 1, 2025, when its mid size employer rate rose to match the large employer rate.
Everett and Renton are the two jurisdictions where a mid size employer rate rises again on July 1 inside the same calendar year. If you run payroll in either city, put a July reminder next to your January one.
Industry Rules and Exemptions
Washington has no industry specific state minimum wage. There is no separate fast food rate, no healthcare rate, and no hospitality rate at the state level, unlike California. One statewide number under RCW 49.46.020 covers every sector, which makes Washington simpler to run than several comparable states.
Agriculture is fully covered. L&I states that agricultural workers must be paid at least the state minimum wage for all hours worked, whether they are paid hourly or by piece rate. Piece rate is legal, but productivity is not a defense: the earnings have to reach minimum wage for all hours worked and for paid rest breaks.
The genuine carve outs are narrow. Certain hand harvest laborers paid a piece rate, who commute daily from a permanent residence and worked fewer than 13 weeks in agriculture the previous calendar year, are exempt under RCW 49.46.010. So is casual labor in or around a private home when it is not part of the employer’s trade or business. Neither is a general purpose exemption, and neither one applies to a normal small business payroll.
The only industry limited rate anywhere in Washington is local: the SeaTac ordinance applies only to hospitality and transportation employers inside the city. If you are comparing that against sector minimum wages elsewhere, our overview of the fast food minimum wage covers how those laws work in the states that have them.
Youth, Learner, and Training Wages
Minors age 14 to 15 may be paid no less than 85 percent of the state minimum wage, which L&I calculates as $14.56 per hour for 2026. Workers 16 and older get the full rate. Washington sets no general 90 day training wage for adults, so a new hire at any age above 15 starts at the full applicable minimum.
L&I can issue special certificates under RCW 49.46.060 that allow a subminimum rate in limited cases. A student worker certificate cannot go below 75 percent of the applicable minimum, and a learner certificate for genuine on the job training cannot go below 85 percent. You need the certificate in hand before you pay the reduced rate. In practice, almost no small business uses one.
| Worker | Rate | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Age 16 and older | $17.13 | Full state minimum wage, no training period exception |
| Minors age 14 to 15 | $14.56 | 85 percent of the state minimum wage, at the employer’s option |
| Student worker on an L&I certificate | No less than 75 percent of the applicable minimum | Certificate required in advance under RCW 49.46.060 |
| Learner on an L&I certificate | No less than 85 percent of the applicable minimum | Certificate required; on-the-job training only |
| Worker with a disability | $17.13 | Washington no longer issues subminimum certificates; the last one expired February 28, 2025 |
That last row is a real change in Washington law. The state phased out subminimum wage certificates for workers with a disability, and L&I reported to the legislature that the final certificate expired on February 28, 2025. Paying a worker with a disability less than minimum wage is no longer permitted in Washington under any certificate.
Hiring a minor brings obligations well beyond the hourly rate: a minor work permit endorsement on the business license, a signed parent and school authorization form, restricted hours during the school year, and prohibited duties. The state compliance guide walks through that paperwork.
Posting and Notice Requirements
Washington has no state minimum wage poster. L&I answers the question directly on its required workplace posters page: minimum wage information lives on the L&I website rather than on a poster that has to be replaced each January. That surprises employers arriving from states where the wage poster is the annual ritual.
What you do post are the three L&I posters for any business with one or more workers at a Washington location, alongside the federal wage and hour poster. Local ordinances then add their own notices, and those are the ones that carry the actual rate and do need annual replacement.
| Jurisdiction | What you post or send | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Washington state | Your Rights as a Worker (F700-074-000), Job Safety and Health Law (F416-081-909), and the job injury notice | Displayed at every Washington work location |
| Federal | US Department of Labor wage and hour poster | Displayed alongside the state posters |
| Seattle | Office of Labor Standards workplace poster, 11 by 17 inches | Replaced annually; the new version is published by December 1 |
| Tukwila | Tukwila Labor Standards notice to employees | Delivered to employees by December 2 each year |
| SeaTac | Written notice of the rate adjustment to each covered worker | By January 1 following the city’s rate bulletin |
| Unincorporated King County | County minimum wage workplace poster | A new version is published for each year |
| Everett, Renton, Burien, Bellingham | The city’s own workplace poster or employee notice | Check the city labor standards page each December |
Seattle’s rule has one detail worth copying into your own process. If displaying the poster is not feasible because someone works remotely or has no fixed workplace, you may deliver it individually in physical or electronic form, in the employee’s primary language.
Washington and the Federal Floor
The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2009. Washington’s rate is more than double that, so the federal figure never governs a Washington paycheck. Where a state or local rate is higher than the federal one, the employee gets the higher rate, a principle the US Department of Labor applies across its consolidated state minimum wage tables.
The federal rules still matter for everything the state law does not displace: overtime, recordkeeping, and the classification tests that decide who is entitled to a minimum wage in the first place. Our federal minimum wage guide covers those, and the state increase tracker shows how Washington compares to the rest of the country.
One Washington specific link between the two systems is worth flagging. The state overtime exempt salary threshold is defined as a multiple of the state minimum wage, currently 2.25 times it, so a minimum wage increase automatically raises the salary floor for exempt staff. Washington’s threshold sits far above the federal one, which means a salaried manager can be exempt under federal law and non exempt under Washington law.
What to Do When a Rate Rises
A minimum wage increase is a payroll project, not a single field update. The state rate moves every January 1, and if you operate in Everett or Renton a mid size employer rate can move again on July 1. Work through the same sequence each time.
The step most employers skip is the second one. If your budgeting starts from a fully loaded hourly figure rather than the base rate, the increase is easier to model, and our breakdown of how to calculate labor cost shows the arithmetic.
Keeping the rate right is the easy half. Keeping the paperwork that proves it right, offer letters, wage notices, acknowledgments, and posted notices, is where small teams lose time. FirstHR keeps that documentation attached to the employee record so an updated rate flows into onboarding materials instead of living in a folder someone forgot to open.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum wage in Washington right now?
It is $17.13 per hour, effective January 1, 2026, for most workers age 16 and older. The rate applies at every employer with no small business exception and no separate figure for part time staff. Eight local jurisdictions require more, and where a local rate is higher, that is the rate you pay.
Can I count tips toward the minimum wage in Washington?
No. Washington allows no tip credit. L&I states that tips and service charges are in addition to, and may not count toward, the employee’s hourly minimum wage. A tipped worker in Washington receives the full $17.13 in cash wages, plus tips. Tip pools are allowed, but salaried exempt managers and owners cannot share in them.
Which Washington cities have their own minimum wage?
Seattle, Tukwila, Renton, Burien, Everett, SeaTac, Bellingham, and unincorporated King County. Tukwila is the highest at $21.65 per hour, and Seattle applies a single $21.30 rate to all employers regardless of size. SeaTac is the outlier: its ordinance covers only hospitality and transportation employers.
What do I pay a 14 or 15 year old in Washington?
No less than 85 percent of the state minimum wage, which L&I calculates as $14.56 per hour for 2026. Workers 16 and older get the full rate. Employing a minor also requires a minor work permit endorsement, a parent and school authorization form, and compliance with restricted hours and prohibited duties.
Does Washington have a fast food or healthcare minimum wage?
No. Washington sets one statewide rate with no industry specific state minimum. Agriculture is fully covered, including piece rate work, where earnings must still reach minimum wage for all hours worked and paid rest breaks. The only industry limited rate in the state is the SeaTac ordinance for hospitality and transportation employers.
Do I have to post the minimum wage in Washington?
There is no state minimum wage poster. L&I keeps the rate on its website instead. You still post the three L&I posters and the federal wage and hour poster. Local ordinances are stricter: Seattle requires an annually updated workplace poster, and Tukwila and SeaTac require written notice to employees.
When does Washington’s minimum wage go up again?
On January 1, 2027. L&I calculates the adjusted rate each September 30 under RCW 49.46.020 using the change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. As of the last review of this page, the 2027 figure had not been announced, so any number circulating now is a projection.