Hawaii minimum wage: $16.00 an hour, rising to $18.00 on January 1, 2028
Checked November 8, 2026Source: Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Wage Standards Division
Short answer
Hawaii’s minimum wage is $16.00 an hour, in effect since January 1, 2026, according to the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Wage Standards Division.
Employers may pay tipped employees $14.75 an hour in cash, as long as tips bring them up to at least $16.00.
It rises to $18.00 on January 1, 2028, with a tipped cash wage of $16.50.
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- Minimum wage today
- $16.00
- Tipped employees, cash wage
- $14.75
- From January 1, 2028
- $18.00
- Full-time year at today’s rate (2,080 hours)
- $33,280
We found no city or county in Hawaii with its own higher minimum wage.
What the January 1, 2028 raise costs you
The raise is $2.00 an hour for anyone paid less than the new rate on January 1, 2028.
- Added wages a year
- $3,120
- Employer Social Security and Medicare (FICA), 7.65%
- $239
- Total added cost a year
- $3,359
Counts only the raise for workers below the new rate, over 52 weeks. It leaves out raises you give others to keep pay gaps, and state unemployment tax, which usually stops at a wage cap.
Hawaii minimum wage by date
Before January 1, 2028
- Update every hourly rate below $18.00 in payroll so the first paycheck on or after that date is right.
- Update tipped employees’ cash wage to $16.50.
- Replace the minimum wage poster with the new year’s version from the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Wage Standards Division.
Other Hawaii pay rules
- Paydays
- At least twice a month on regular paydays set in advance, within 7 days after the pay period ends.
- Overtime
- Time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek. Employees paid a fixed $4,000 or more a month are exempt from the state minimum wage and overtime law, though the federal rules can still apply to them.
- Final paycheck
- Fired: At the time of discharge or by the next working day. Quit: By the next regular payday. If the employee gave at least one pay period’s notice, on the last day.
From the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and the U.S. Department of Labor’s state tables. All Hawaii employer rules.
Questions employers ask
What is the minimum wage in Hawaii in 2026?
Hawaii’s minimum wage is $16.00 an hour, in effect since January 1, 2026, according to the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Wage Standards Division.
What is the tipped minimum wage in Hawaii?
Employers may pay tipped employees $14.75 an hour in cash, as long as tips bring them up to at least $16.00.
When does the Hawaii minimum wage go up next?
On January 1, 2028, to $18.00 an hour.
Do cities in Hawaii have a higher minimum wage?
We found no city or county in Hawaii with a minimum wage above the state rate.
Does Hawaii require overtime pay?
Time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek. Employees paid a fixed $4,000 or more a month are exempt from the state minimum wage and overtime law, though the federal rules can still apply to them.
Compare every state’s minimum wage · Everything employers in Hawaii must do
Sources
- Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Wage Standards Division
- HRS section 387-2, Minimum wages, Hawaii State Legislature (read Nov 8, 2026)
- Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (November 5, 2026 table), U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (read Nov 8, 2026)