Wyoming Minimum Wage: Rate, Tip Credit, Exemptions
Wyoming’s state minimum wage is $5.15, but most employers owe the federal $7.25. Tip credit math, exemptions, youth wage, and poster rules explained.
Wyoming Minimum Wage
The state rate, the federal floor that overrides it, tip credit math, exemptions, and the poster rule
A Wyoming owner I talked to had set every new hire at $5.15 an hour. He had not made the number up. It is printed in the state statutes, it shows up in the first search result, and his bookkeeper had typed it straight into payroll. It was still the wrong number, and he owed back wages for it.
Wyoming is one of a small group of states whose own minimum wage sits below the federal one. The state figure never got repealed, so it keeps surfacing in payroll setup screens and in advice from people who read the statute and stopped reading there.
This page covers the rate and the rules attached to it. The wider state picture, from workers' compensation to final paychecks, lives in the Wyoming HR compliance guide.
The Wyoming Minimum Wage Rate
Wyoming's state minimum wage is $5.15 per hour. It is written into W.S. 27-4-202(a) and has not moved since Senate File 36 took effect on April 1, 2001. The Department of Workforce Services answers the question the same way on its employer FAQ: $5.15 per hour, and it does not vary by employee type or schedule.
The number most Wyoming employers actually pay is $7.25, the federal minimum wage that has been in place since July 24, 2009. Both figures are real, both are current, and the difference between them is a coverage question rather than a drafting error.
| Rate | Amount per hour | Authority | In effect since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming state minimum wage | $5.15 | W.S. 27-4-202(a) | April 1, 2001 |
| Federal minimum wage (FLSA) | $7.25 | 29 U.S.C. 206(a) | July 24, 2009 |
| Wyoming tipped cash wage | $2.13 | W.S. 27-4-202(b) | April 1, 2001 |
| Youth wage, first 90 days, under age 20 | $4.25 | W.S. 27-4-202(c) | April 1, 2001 |
The federal rate is not a Wyoming rule and this page does not restate it. If you want the national picture, including how the $7.25 floor has held since 2009, read the federal minimum wage guide.
Which Rate Applies to Your Business
If the Fair Labor Standards Act covers your business, you pay $7.25. Coverage attaches to an enterprise with $500,000 or more in annual gross receipts, and it attaches separately to any individual employee engaged in interstate commerce, whatever the size of the business.
The Wyoming Legislative Service Office asked the Department of Workforce Services this exact question for its June 2024 fact sheet on minimum wage. The answer: an employer pays Wyoming's $5.15 rather than the federal rate only when the FLSA does not cover it. The US Department of Labor applies the same two coverage tests nationwide.
| Your situation | Rate you must pay | Why |
|---|---|---|
| $500,000 or more in annual gross receipts | $7.25 | Enterprise coverage under the FLSA |
| An employee regularly handles out-of-state orders, shipments or card payments | $7.25 | Individual FLSA coverage, regardless of business size |
| Below $500,000 with no interstate work by any employee | $5.15 | Only the Wyoming act reaches you (W.S. 27-4-202(a)) |
| Worker excluded by the state act but covered federally | $7.25 | Federal rules control wherever they reach further |
Individual coverage is broader than most owners expect, which is why $7.25 is the safe operating assumption for a Wyoming small business. A single employee who processes card payments or orders inventory from another state can pull that job into federal coverage. The mechanics of both tests are laid out in our guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Scheduled Increases and Indexing
No increase is scheduled. Wyoming sets one flat rate in statute, does not tie it to the consumer price index, and has no future step written into law. There is nothing on the calendar to plan payroll around.
Five bills to raise the state rate were introduced between 2015 and 2021, and all five failed, according to Legislative Service Office fact sheet 24FS020 from June 2024. A check of the legislature's bill lists for the 2025 general session and the 2026 budget session turns up no minimum wage bill at all.
That makes a federal change the realistic trigger for a Wyoming pay adjustment. Employers with staff in other states have more to track, and those schedules are collected in our roundup of state minimum wage increases.
Tipped Employees and the Tip Credit
Wyoming allows a tip credit. The cash wage floor is $2.13 per hour under W.S. 27-4-202(b), and the statute requires the employer to pay the difference whenever the cash wage combined with tips fails to reach the applicable minimum for the pay period.
The phrase "applicable minimum" is where the money is. For an FLSA-covered employer, the total has to reach $7.25, which caps the tip credit at $5.12. For the rare state-only employer, the total has to reach $5.15 and the credit caps at $3.02.
| Tip credit math | FLSA-covered employer | State-only employer |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage you pay | $2.13 | $2.13 |
| Cash wage plus tips must reach | $7.25 | $5.15 |
| Maximum tip credit | $5.12 | $3.02 |
| Employer covers any shortfall | Yes, every pay period | Yes, every pay period |
A tipped employee under state law is one who customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. W.S. 27-4-202(b) also puts a paperwork duty on that employee: the daily tip record the IRS requires has to be furnished to the employer monthly, and it counts as prima facie proof of the amount received.
Tips themselves belong to the employee. W.S. 27-4-507(a) makes them the sole property of the worker who received them and not payable in whole or in part to the employer. For the federal notice and tip pooling mechanics that sit on top of this, see minimum wage for tipped employees.
City and County Rates in Wyoming
There are none. No Wyoming city or county sets its own minimum wage, so the same two numbers apply in Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie, Gillette, Rock Springs and every other jurisdiction in the state. The Department of Workforce Services publishes a single statewide figure and keeps no local rate table.
The cross-border case is the one to watch. Colorado does have city and county rates that run well above the Wyoming floor, so a pay policy written for a Cheyenne location cannot be copied into a Colorado site without checking the ordinance that applies there.
Who the State Act Excludes
Wyoming excludes seven categories of worker from its minimum wage act in W.S. 27-4-201(a)(iv). None of them are industry rates. Wyoming has no fast food wage, no healthcare wage and no agricultural minimum of its own, and it has no large-employer or small-employer split either.
| Excluded from the Wyoming act | Statute | Does the FLSA still reach them? |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone employed in agriculture | 27-4-201(a)(iv)(A) | Often yes, under the FLSA farm tests, with its own overtime exemption |
| Domestic service in or about a private home | 27-4-201(a)(iv)(B) | Often yes, where the federal earnings or hours tests are met |
| Bona fide executive, administrative or professional roles | 27-4-201(a)(iv)(C) | Exempt federally too, but only if the salary and duties tests are met |
| Federal, state and local government employees | 27-4-201(a)(iv)(D) | Yes, public employees are FLSA-covered |
| Volunteers for educational, charitable, religious or nonprofit groups | 27-4-201(a)(iv)(E) | Genuine volunteers are not employees federally either |
| Outside salespeople paid solely on commission | 27-4-201(a)(iv)(G) | Exempt federally if the outside sales test is met |
| On-call ambulance drivers | 27-4-201(a)(iv)(H) | No federal counterpart, so the FLSA minimum still applies |
Read that right-hand column carefully, because it is the trap. A state exclusion is not a federal exclusion. The statute text is in the legislature's Title 27 compilation, and the state exclusions are written in a single sentence each, with no salary test attached.
The white-collar exclusion is the clearest example. Wyoming names executive, administrative and professional roles and says nothing more, so an FLSA-covered employer still has to run the federal salary and duties tests before treating anyone as exempt.
Youth and Training Wage
The youth wage is $4.25 per hour for employees under the age of 20, during their first 90 consecutive days with your business. W.S. 27-4-202(c) and the FLSA set the same number, so it works out identically whichever law reaches you.
The statute attaches a condition worth reading twice. No employer may displace existing employees to hire at the youth wage, and displacement includes partial moves such as cutting hours, wages or benefits. Hiring three teenagers at $4.25 and trimming the schedule of the crew already on staff is exactly what that sentence prohibits.
When the 90 days run out or the employee turns 20, whichever comes first, the full applicable minimum takes over. Wyoming has no separate training or apprentice rate beyond this. Hour restrictions for workers aged 14 to 17 are a different body of law, covered in our guide to child labor laws.
Posters and Pay Records
Wyoming employers have to display labor law posters, and the state gives them away. The Department of Workforce Services publishes a Wyoming set covering state minimum wage, workers' compensation, unemployment insurance and occupational safety, plus a federal set covering the FLSA minimum wage, family leave and discrimination law.
The agency's guidance is that most businesses need both sets, hung in a high-traffic area such as a breakroom or near the time clock. Download them from DWS labor law posters. The state will never ask for a credit card, so a poster invoice in the mail is a vendor pitch rather than a compliance deadline.
Pay records carry their own state rule. W.S. 27-4-203 requires every covered employer to keep, on or about the premises where the employee works, the name, address and occupation of each employee, the rate of pay, the amount paid each pay period, and the hours worked each day and each workweek. The retention period is at least two years, and federal payroll recordkeeping rules run longer.
What to Do When a Rate Changes
Wyoming's own rate is static, so the change that lands on your payroll will almost certainly be federal. The work is the same either way, and it is more than editing one number in the payroll system.
The step people skip is the last one. A rate change that lives only in the payroll system leaves the record and the wall out of date, and both are what an investigator looks at first. Keeping employee records, pay rates and acknowledgments in one place is a large part of why I built FirstHR. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a payroll provider, so the rate still gets keyed into payroll: what it removes is the hunt for who was on which rate and when. For the notices that ride along with pay changes, see our guide to required employee notices.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum wage in Wyoming?
Wyoming's state minimum wage is $5.15 per hour under W.S. 27-4-202(a). The number most businesses pay is the federal $7.25, in place since July 24, 2009, because federal coverage reaches any enterprise at $500,000 or more in annual gross receipts and any employee doing interstate work. Treat $7.25 as your floor unless you have confirmed neither test applies.
Can I legally pay a Wyoming employee $5.15 an hour?
Only when the FLSA reaches neither your business nor that employee, which is uncommon. The Legislative Service Office confirmed the point with the Department of Workforce Services for its June 2024 fact sheet: the state rate applies only outside federal coverage. Individual coverage can attach through one employee who handles out-of-state orders or card payments, so document the analysis before running payroll at the lower figure.
Is the Wyoming minimum wage going up?
No increase is scheduled and the rate is not indexed to inflation. Five bills to raise it were introduced between 2015 and 2021 and all five failed, per Legislative Service Office fact sheet 24FS020. No minimum wage bill appears in the 2025 general session or the 2026 budget session lists. A federal change is the realistic trigger for a Wyoming pay adjustment.
What do I pay tipped employees in Wyoming?
The cash wage floor is $2.13 per hour under W.S. 27-4-202(b), and you owe the difference whenever cash wages plus tips miss the applicable minimum. For FLSA-covered work that target is $7.25, capping the tip credit at $5.12. A tipped employee is one who customarily receives more than $30 a month in tips, and those tips are the employee's sole property under W.S. 27-4-507(a).
Do any Wyoming cities or counties have their own minimum wage?
No. No Wyoming city or county publishes a local minimum wage, and the Department of Workforce Services maintains no local rate table. The same figures apply statewide. The practical caution is for employers with locations on both sides of a state line, since Colorado does have city and county rates that sit well above the Wyoming floor.
Does Wyoming have a youth or training wage?
Yes. W.S. 27-4-202(c) allows $4.25 per hour for employees under age 20 during their first 90 consecutive days of employment, matching the federal youth minimum wage. The statute forbids displacing existing employees to use it, including cuts to their hours, wages or benefits. After 90 days or the employee's twentieth birthday, the full applicable minimum applies. There is no separate training rate.
Do I have to display a minimum wage poster in Wyoming?
Yes, and the Department of Workforce Services provides the posters free. Most businesses need both the Wyoming set, covering state minimum wage, workers' compensation, unemployment insurance and safety, and the federal set. Hang them where everyone passes, such as a breakroom or the time clock. The state never charges for posters, so a mailed invoice is a vendor rather than a requirement.