The Texas minimum wage for 2026 and 2027, the tipped and youth rates, and how the rate is set each year. Every figure links to its official source below.
| Rate | 2026 (now) | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Standard minimum wage | $7.25 | $7.25 |
| Tipped employees (cash wage) Plus tips, which must bring the total up to the full minimum wage. | $2.13 | $2.13 |
| Workers under 20, first 90 days Federal youth minimum wage, available to employers covered by the FLSA. | $4.25 | $4.25 |
Current rate in effect since July 24, 2009; next statewide change: the rate stays at $7.25: Texas adopts the federal minimum wage, so its rate moves only when the federal rate does.
Texas Labor Code § 62.051 requires employers to pay the federal minimum wage. The rate has been $7.25 since July 24, 2009.
Texas Labor Code § 62.052 counts a tipped employee's pay the way the federal Fair Labor Standards Act does, so the lowest cash wage is the federal $2.13 an hour and tips must bring the total to $7.25. A tipped employee is one who customarily and regularly receives more than $20 a month in tips.
The Texas Minimum Wage Act exempts an employer for a worker under 18 who is not a high school graduate, and for a worker under 20 who is a student regularly enrolled in high school, college, university or a vocational program (Labor Code § 62.155).
Because the Act does not apply to anyone covered by the federal law, the federal youth rule governs those workers: $4.25 an hour for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days with an employer.
Texas does not let cities or counties set their own minimum wage for private employers: the state minimum wage supersedes a wage set in an ordinance, order or charter provision governing wages in private employment, other than wages under a public contract (Labor Code § 62.0515).
Texas Labor Code § 62.051 ties the state rate to the federal minimum wage under Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The section contains no dollar figure, schedule or inflation adjustment of its own, so the Texas rate changes only if Congress changes the federal rate.
What does $7.25 an hour leave you after tax in Texas? Run it through the paycheck calculator.
Open the paycheck calculator →Every state side by side: minimum wage by state 2026 and minimum wage by state 2027.
$16.90 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$15.00 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$11.00 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$13.73 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$15.15 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$15.16 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$17.13 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$15.00 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$17.00 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$16.94 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$7.25 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$15.92 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$7.25 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$7.25 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$7.25 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$7.25 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$7.25 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$11.00 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$12.77 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$15.00 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
$15.00 now; tipped, youth and local rates.
Every 2026 state minimum wage vs the $7.25 federal floor, DOL-sourced, all 50 states + DC + territories
Every 2027 state minimum wage vs the $7.25 federal floor, official-source verified, all 50 states + DC + territories
Federal, state, FICA withholding, net take-home, W-4 alignment
Convert annual salary to hourly wage, part-time calculations