Massachusetts Minimum Wage 2026: $15.00 an Hour, $6.75 Service Rate
Massachusetts minimum wage is $15.00 an hour in 2026, unchanged since January 2023. Tipped employees get a $6.75 service rate, agricultural workers $8.00. No increase is scheduled, and no city may set its own rate.
The Massachusetts minimum wage is $15.00 per hour in 2026. It reached that level on January 1, 2023, the final step of the 2018 "grand bargain" law, and has not changed since. Tipped employees must be paid a service rate of at least $6.75 per hour, with tips making up the rest. Agricultural workers have a separate $8.00 minimum. State law requires the Massachusetts rate to stay at least 50 cents above the federal minimum, and no local government may set a different rate. A bill to raise the minimum to $20.00 by 2029 has been filed but has not passed.
Reviewed September 2026
Rates on this page were checked against the US Department of Labor state minimum wage tables as of July 1, 2026 and the Massachusetts Attorney General's minimum wage guidance. Legislation to raise the rate is pending; confirm the current figure before running payroll. See our labor law compliance guides for other state rules.
Current Massachusetts Minimum Wage
Massachusetts reached $15.00 on January 1, 2023 through a five-step schedule set by the 2018 law that also created the state's paid family and medical leave program. The rate is set in Massachusetts General Laws chapter 151, section 1, and enforced by the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division.
Two features of the statute stand out. First, the law says the state minimum must always be at least 50 cents higher than the federal minimum wage, so a federal increase above $14.50 would automatically lift the Massachusetts rate. Second, the rate is not indexed to inflation. Unlike neighbors Connecticut and Vermont, Massachusetts only changes its minimum wage when the legislature passes a new schedule.
That has left the rate flat for four years while the cost of living in Greater Boston has kept rising. Senate Bill 1349, filed in the 2025 to 2026 session, would raise the minimum in annual steps starting at $16.25 and reaching $20.00 by 2029, then index it to the Consumer Price Index. As of September 2026 it has not been enacted.
Massachusetts Minimum Wage vs Federal Minimum Wage
| Massachusetts 2026 | Federal (FLSA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard hourly minimum | $15.00 | $7.25 |
| Tipped cash wage | $6.75 | $2.13 |
| Maximum tip credit | $8.25 | $5.12 |
| Agricultural minimum | $8.00 | $7.25 where covered |
| Annual adjustment | No | No |
| Floor relative to federal | Must stay at least $0.50 above federal | Not applicable |
| Local rates allowed | No | Not applicable |
Tipped Minimum Wage in Massachusetts
Massachusetts calls the tipped cash wage the "service rate," and it is $6.75 per hour. Employers may take a tip credit of up to $8.25 as long as the employee's tips plus service rate equal at least $15.00 for each hour worked. The shortfall rule is strict and is measured per shift: if a server's tips on a slow lunch shift do not bring them to $15.00, the employer owes the difference for that shift, not just for the week.
Other Massachusetts tip rules employers should know:
- The service rate applies only to employees who customarily receive more than $20 a month in tips.
- Tip pooling is allowed among wait staff, service bartenders, and other service employees, but managers and owners cannot share in the pool.
- Service charges that customers might reasonably think are tips must be paid to the service employees.
- Overtime for tipped employees is calculated on the full $15.00, so the overtime rate is $22.50 with the tip credit applied to each hour.
Massachusetts Minimum Wage Increase Schedule
| Effective date | Rate | Service rate |
|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2019 | $12.00 | $4.35 |
| January 1, 2020 | $12.75 | $4.95 |
| January 1, 2021 | $13.50 | $5.55 |
| January 1, 2022 | $14.25 | $6.15 |
| January 1, 2023 | $15.00 | $6.75 |
| 2024 to 2026 | $15.00 | $6.75 |
| 2027 | No change scheduled | No change scheduled |
The same 2018 law phased out the retail Sunday and holiday premium. Retailers were once required to pay time and a half on Sundays and certain holidays; that premium fell each January and ended on January 1, 2023. Retail workers now earn straight time on Sundays unless they exceed 40 hours in the week.
Local Minimum Wages in Massachusetts
None. Massachusetts does not allow cities or towns to set a minimum wage above the state figure, so Boston, Worcester, Springfield, and Cambridge all use $15.00. Some municipalities have living wage ordinances for their own employees and city contractors, but those do not reach private employers.
Who Is Covered and Who Is Exempt
Chapter 151 covers nearly every employee in Massachusetts. The main groups outside the standard rate are:
- Agricultural and farm workers, who have an $8.00 minimum
- Members of religious orders
- Employees being trained in charitable, educational, or religious institutions
- Outside salespeople who do not report to or work from a fixed location
- Bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees who meet the federal duties and salary tests, who are exempt from overtime
Massachusetts has no youth or training wage. Employees under 18 receive the full $15.00, subject to the state's child labor hour limits. Check the Massachusetts labor law guide for those limits and for exempt vs non-exempt classification, which follows the federal tests.
Overtime and the Minimum Wage
Massachusetts requires 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek, in line with the FLSA. Some occupations exempt from state overtime (such as restaurant and hotel workers) are still covered by federal overtime, so the practical rule for almost every hourly employee is time and a half after 40. There is no daily overtime.
For a minimum wage employee working 45 hours:
- 40 hours at $15.00 = $600.00
- 5 overtime hours at $22.50 = $112.50
- Weekly gross pay = $712.50
Use the overtime calculator for other rates, and see overtime pay laws by state.
What a Minimum Wage Worker Earns in Massachusetts
| Schedule | At $15.00 |
|---|---|
| 40-hour week | $600.00 |
| Month (173.33 hours) | $2,600.00 |
| Year (2,080 hours) | $31,200 |
Gross pay before taxes and deductions. Convert any figure with the salary to hourly calculator, and see what gross pay includes.
Common Minimum Wage Mistakes in Massachusetts
Massachusetts wage claims carry mandatory treble damages under the Wage Act, so small errors become expensive. The mistakes the Attorney General's office sees most often:
- Weekly rather than per-shift tip true-ups. Massachusetts measures the $15.00 floor for tipped employees on each shift. A slow lunch shift that leaves a server at $12.00 an hour must be topped up even if dinner tips push the weekly average higher.
- Managers in the tip pool. Anyone with managerial responsibility, even a shift lead who spends most of the day serving, cannot share in a tip pool.
- Treating the $8.00 agricultural rate as a general farm rate. It applies only to agricultural and farming work as defined in the statute; farm stand retail employees, for example, receive $15.00.
- Assuming exempt status from a job title. Salaried assistant managers who mostly do hourly work are a frequent source of overtime claims at $22.50 an hour.
- Missing the paid family and medical leave contribution. The same 2018 law that set $15.00 created PFML; employers that update the wage rate but not the payroll contribution rate fall out of compliance on both.
Employer Compliance Checklist
- Pay at least $15.00 per hour to every non-exempt employee, including minors.
- Pay tipped staff at least $6.75 in cash and true up to $15.00 at the end of every shift, not just every pay period.
- Keep tip pools limited to service employees; managers cannot participate.
- Watch the legislature for S.1349 or a successor bill; a new step schedule would start the following January.
- Track hours to the minute with a time card calculator or time tracking software; Massachusetts requires payroll records to be kept for three years.
- Post the Massachusetts wage and hour notice, and confirm your paid family and medical leave contributions are current, since the same law governs both.
Shift-Level Records for Massachusetts Tip Credits
HiveDesk logs clock-in and clock-out times for every shift, so you can prove each tipped employee reached $15.00 and calculate overtime correctly. $5/user/month, 14-day free trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum wage in Massachusetts in 2026?
$15.00 per hour. It has been $15.00 since January 1, 2023.
Is Massachusetts minimum wage going up in 2027?
No increase is scheduled. Senate Bill 1349 would raise the rate to $16.25 and then to $20.00 by 2029, but it has not been enacted as of September 2026.
What is the tipped minimum wage in Massachusetts?
The service rate is $6.75 per hour. Tips must bring the employee to at least $15.00 on every shift.
Is Massachusetts minimum wage $15 or $20?
$15.00. The $20.00 figure comes from a pending bill and is not law.
Does Massachusetts have a different minimum wage for minors?
No. Employees under 18 receive the full $15.00. The only lower rate is the $8.00 agricultural minimum.
Is Sunday pay still time and a half in Massachusetts?
Not for retail employees. The Sunday and holiday premium was phased out and ended on January 1, 2023. Overtime after 40 hours still applies.
What is the minimum wage in Boston?
$15.00, the statewide rate. Massachusetts does not allow local minimum wages.
How much is Massachusetts minimum wage per year?
$31,200 for a full-time employee working 2,080 hours, before taxes.
For a comparison with every other state, see minimum wage by state.