The highest applicable rate wins. Federal law sets $7.25 as a floor rather than a ceiling, so where a state or city requires more, the employer owes the higher figure for work performed there. Five states have no minimum wage law of their own, and Georgia and Wyoming set $5.15 — below the federal floor, which overrides it for employers covered by the FLSA.
The stack
Federal. $7.25 since July 2009, applying to employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, which is most of them.
State. Roughly thirty states plus the District of Columbia set more. Around twenty are effectively at the federal floor.
Local. Cities and counties in many states set higher rates still, and they govern work performed inside their boundaries.
The two odd cases
Five states — Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee — have no state minimum wage statute at all, so covered employers there owe the federal rate directly.
Georgia and Wyoming have state minimums of $5.15, which is lower than the federal floor. For FLSA-covered employers the federal rate applies anyway. The state figure is not a loophole; it is a number left behind by a federal increase.
Location, not headquarters
The rate follows where the work is performed. A company headquartered in a low-rate state owes the local rate for staff working in a high-rate city, and paying the state rate instead is a violation whatever the intention was.
The federal contractor rate is no longer what it was
An executive order that had set a higher minimum for federal contractors was revoked in March 2025, and the Department of Labor announced it is no longer enforcing it and would rescind the implementing regulation. Anyone relying on a guide written before that will have the wrong figure.
How to establish your own number
State labor agency first, then check whether your city or county sets its own, then check whether your industry has a separate rate. Three lookups, and the answer is the largest of them.
Common questions
Which minimum wage applies to me?
The highest of the federal, state, local and any industry rate covering your job at the place the work is performed.
Which states have no minimum wage law?
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. Employers there covered by federal law owe $7.25.
Why do Georgia and Wyoming show $5.15?
Those state rates sit below the federal floor and are overridden for FLSA-covered employers. They are numbers left behind by a federal increase.
Does my employer's headquarters matter?
No. The rate follows where the work is performed, so a local city rate governs even for an out-of-state employer.
Is there still a higher federal contractor minimum?
The executive order setting one was revoked in March 2025 and the Department of Labor said it would stop enforcing it and rescind the rule.