Delaware Minimum Wage 2026
The minimum wage in Delaware is $15.00 per hour in 2026, effective January 1, 2025. Tipped employees can be paid a cash wage of $2.23 per hour, as long as tips bring them to the full minimum.
What is the minimum wage in Delaware in 2026?
The Delaware minimum wage is $15.00 per hour in 2026. The state hit that mark on January 1, 2025, completing a 2021 law that raised the wage in four steps: $10.50 in 2022, $11.75 in 2023, $13.25 in 2024, and $15.00 in 2025.
The schedule ended there. Delaware's law contains no inflation indexing, so the rate holds flat at $15.00 in 2026 and beyond unless the General Assembly passes a new increase. That gives employers unusual budgeting certainty after four straight years of January payroll changes.
Tipped minimum wage in Delaware
The tipped minimum wage in Delaware is $2.23 per hour in direct cash wages, one of the lowest tipped rates among states with a $15.00 full minimum. Tips must bring each tipped employee to $15.00 per hour, and employers cover any shortfall.
With a $12.77 gap between the cash wage and the full minimum, tip shortfalls are a genuine weekly exposure in Delaware hospitality. Run the tip credit calculation every pay period, not quarterly, and keep signed tip records; the burden of proof in a wage claim falls on the employer.
Delaware minimum wage history: 2020 to 2026
| Year | Minimum wage | Tipped wage |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.25 | $2.23 |
| 2021 | $9.25 | $2.23 |
| 2022 | $10.50 | $2.23 |
| 2023 | $11.75 | $2.23 |
| 2024 | $13.25 | $2.23 |
| 2025 | $15.00 | $2.23 |
| 2026 | $15.00 | $2.23 |
Upcoming minimum wage increases in Delaware
No further increases are scheduled. The 2021 law's schedule finished at $15.00 in 2025 and did not include indexing, so the rate stays flat until new legislation passes.
Bills to add inflation adjustments or raise the tipped wage surface periodically in Dover. Employers can plan around a stable $15.00 for now but should check each legislative session, since Delaware has shown it will move the wage in large steps once it acts.
Minimum wage by city in Delaware
Delaware has no local minimum wages; Wilmington, Dover, Newark, and Middletown all follow the $15.00 state rate.
The sharpest wage line in the region runs along the Pennsylvania border. Pennsylvania's minimum is still the federal $7.25, so Delaware employers in the Philadelphia metro out-pay their cross-border competitors by law, a real advantage when recruiting hourly workers who can commute either way.
State rate; Philadelphia metro, where PA employers across the line pay as little as $7.25
State rate applies
State rate applies
State rate applies
What Delaware employers need to know
Coverage
Delaware's minimum wage covers most employees in the state, with narrow exemptions for certain agricultural, domestic, and federal roles. Youth and training wages are limited to 90 days and set percentages of the minimum.
Tipped employees
You may pay $2.23 in cash wages only when tips bring total pay to $15.00 per hour. Tip pooling is allowed among customarily tipped employees, but employers may not take any portion of tips.
Overtime
Delaware follows the federal FLSA standard of 1.5x pay after 40 hours in a workweek. There is no state daily overtime rule.
Posting and records
Post the Delaware Department of Labor minimum wage notice and retain payroll records, including tip documentation for employees paid under the tip credit.
How other states compare
See how Delaware's $15.00 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 Delaware labor department. Minimum wage laws change frequently; confirm current rates with those sources or legal counsel before setting pay.
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