Alabama Minimum Wage 2026
The minimum wage in Alabama is $7.25 per hour in 2026, effective July 24, 2009. Tipped employees can be paid a cash wage of $2.13 per hour, as long as tips bring them to the full minimum.
What is the minimum wage in Alabama in 2026?
Alabama has no state minimum wage law of its own. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour applies by default through the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and that rate has not moved since July 24, 2009.
The absence of a state statute has a practical edge case: employers too small to be covered by the FLSA (very small businesses with no interstate commerce activity) technically face no wage floor at all in Alabama. In practice, almost every employer meets the FLSA coverage tests, so $7.25 is the working minimum for nearly all Alabama payrolls.
Tipped minimum wage in Alabama
Because Alabama defers entirely to federal law, tipped employees follow the federal tipped minimum of $2.13 per hour in direct cash wages. The employer may claim a tip credit of up to $5.12, but tips plus cash wages must reach at least $7.25 per hour for every workweek.
When a server's tips do not close the gap in a given workweek, the employer owes the difference. Alabama has no state labor department enforcing wage claims, so tipped-wage disputes go through the federal Department of Labor or the courts. Solid tip records are your best protection.
Alabama minimum wage history: 2020 to 2026
| Year | Minimum wage | Tipped wage |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $7.25 | $2.13 |
| 2021 | $7.25 | $2.13 |
| 2022 | $7.25 | $2.13 |
| 2023 | $7.25 | $2.13 |
| 2024 | $7.25 | $2.13 |
| 2025 | $7.25 | $2.13 |
| 2026 | $7.25 | $2.13 |
Upcoming minimum wage increases in Alabama
No increases are scheduled. Since Alabama has no minimum wage statute, the only two paths to a higher floor are Congress raising the federal rate or the Alabama Legislature passing a state minimum wage law for the first time.
Bills to create a state minimum wage have been introduced in Montgomery in recent sessions but have not advanced. The state's clearest wage-policy statement remains its 2016 preemption law, which was passed specifically to block Birmingham's attempted $10.10 city minimum. Employers budgeting for 2027 should assume $7.25 stays put absent federal action.
Minimum wage by city in Alabama
Alabama cities cannot set their own minimum wage. When Birmingham passed a $10.10 city ordinance in 2016, the Legislature responded within days with a statewide preemption law that voided it, and courts later upheld the state's authority.
That leaves $7.25 as the legal floor from Huntsville's aerospace corridor to the Gulf Coast. Actual starting wages in Alabama's larger metros usually clear the floor, but by a smaller margin than in most states, so the federal rate still shapes real pay for entry-level roles.
The 2016 city ordinance raising it to $10.10 was blocked by state preemption
Federal rate; defense and aerospace employers typically start well above it
Federal rate applies; no local wage authority
Federal rate; port and hospitality jobs price off the market, not the floor
What Alabama employers need to know
Coverage
Alabama has no state wage-and-hour agency, so coverage comes entirely from the FLSA: enterprises with $500,000 or more in annual revenue or any employee engaged in interstate commerce. Employers outside FLSA coverage have no legal wage floor in Alabama, a rare situation nationally.
Overtime
Federal overtime rules apply: 1.5x the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. Alabama adds no daily overtime or state-specific premium pay requirements.
Tipped employees
Pay at least $2.13 in cash wages and verify each workweek that tips lift total hourly pay to $7.25. Notify employees of the tip credit before using it, as federal law requires.
Posting and records
Post the federal FLSA minimum wage poster and keep payroll records for at least three years. There is no separate Alabama wage poster because there is no state wage law.
How other states compare
See how Alabama's $7.25 rate stacks up against other state minimum wages in 2026, or browse the full minimum wage index for all 50 states.
Last verified:
Sources: the US Department of Labor's state minimum wage table and official announcements from the Alabama labor department. Minimum wage laws change frequently; confirm current rates with those sources or legal counsel before setting pay.
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