Georgia Minimum Wage 2026
The minimum wage in Georgia 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 Georgia in 2026?
Georgia's minimum wage situation is unusual: the state rate on the books is $5.15 per hour, one of only two state minimums set below the federal level. Because federal law wins whenever it is higher, the $7.25 federal minimum wage applies to nearly every Georgia employee, and it has been frozen at that level since July 24, 2009.
The $5.15 figure is not just trivia. It legally reaches the rare employee who falls outside FLSA coverage, such as workers at very small businesses with no interstate commerce ties. For everyone else, which is the overwhelming majority of the Georgia workforce, $7.25 is the enforceable floor.
Tipped minimum wage in Georgia
Georgia follows the federal tip credit system. Tipped employees can be paid $2.13 per hour in direct wages as long as tips bring their total to at least $7.25 per hour over the workweek. Georgia's own wage law actually exempts tipped employees entirely, so federal rules are the only ones that apply.
The workweek math matters: if a bartender's tips plus the $2.13 base come out below $7.25 for the week, the employer must pay the gap. Georgia restaurants see frequent federal wage-and-hour claims over tip pools and shortfalls, so document tip income every pay period.
Georgia 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 Georgia
Nothing is scheduled. Raising the effective minimum in Georgia would take either congressional action on the federal rate or the General Assembly lifting the state's $5.15 statute above $7.25, and neither is close to passing.
Bills to raise Georgia's state minimum, some as high as $15.00, have been filed in Atlanta in recent sessions without receiving floor votes. Until that changes, employers can plan on a $7.25 floor, though hiring at that number is increasingly unrealistic in the state's major metros.
Minimum wage by city in Georgia
Georgia law preempts local minimum wages for private employers, so no city or county can require more than the federal $7.25. Atlanta has set higher pay floors for its own municipal workers, but it cannot extend those to private businesses.
The gap between the legal floor and the going rate is widest in metro Atlanta, where competition for hourly talent in logistics, film production, and hospitality pushes typical starting pay far above $7.25. Treat the floor as a compliance number, not a benchmark for offers.
Federal floor; metro market wages for hourly roles run far above it
Federal rate; port growth has tightened the local hourly labor market
Federal rate applies; cyber and medical employers anchor local pay
Federal rate; no local wage ordinance is permitted under state preemption
What Georgia employers need to know
Which rate covers whom
FLSA-covered employers, meaning those with $500,000 or more in annual revenue or employees in interstate commerce, must pay $7.25. Only employers outside FLSA coverage can rely on Georgia's $5.15 state rate, and even then the state law exempts employers with fewer than six employees.
Overtime
Georgia has no state overtime statute. Federal FLSA rules apply: 1.5x the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek, with no daily overtime threshold.
Tipped employees
Use the federal framework: a $2.13 cash wage plus a tip credit of up to $5.12, verified against $7.25 each workweek. Give employees written or verbal notice of the tip credit before applying it.
Posting and records
Display the federal minimum wage poster and retain payroll records for three years. Georgia's Department of Labor handles unemployment, not wage enforcement, so wage complaints route to the federal DOL.
How other states compare
See how Georgia'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 Georgia labor department. Minimum wage laws change frequently; confirm current rates with those sources or legal counsel before setting pay.
Hiring hourly workers in Georgia?
Post your job for free.
Hirex helps you post jobs, screen applicants, and hire faster in one dashboard, so staying compliant on pay is the only hard part you handle alone. No credit card needed.
