Hawaii Minimum Wage 2026
The minimum wage in Hawaii is $16.00 per hour in 2026, effective January 1, 2026. Tipped employees can be paid a cash wage of $14.50 per hour, as long as tips bring them to the full minimum.
What is the minimum wage in Hawaii in 2026?
The Hawaii minimum wage is $16.00 per hour as of January 1, 2026, a $2.00 jump from the $14.00 rate that held through 2024 and 2025. The increase comes from Act 114 (2022), which moves the wage in large two-dollar steps: $12.00 in October 2022, $14.00 in January 2024, $16.00 in January 2026, and $18.00 in January 2028.
That makes Hawaii the only state with a scheduled path to an $18.00 minimum wage. The schedule reflects the state's economics: Hawaii has the highest cost of living in the country, and a tourism-driven labor market where hotels, restaurants, and retail compete hard for a limited resident workforce.
Tipped minimum wage in Hawaii
Hawaii allows a tip credit of $1.50 in 2026, so the tipped cash wage is $14.50 per hour. But the credit comes with an unusual condition: an employer may only take it when the employee's cash wage plus tips exceeds the full minimum wage by at least $7.00 per hour, meaning total earnings of at least $23.00 per hour in 2026.
In practice, that means the tip credit is only available for genuinely high-tip roles. If a server's combined pay comes to less than $23.00 per hour, you must pay the full $16.00 in cash for that period. Run the $23.00 test every pay period, and default to the full minimum whenever tips are borderline.
Hawaii minimum wage history: 2020 to 2026
| Year | Minimum wage | Tipped wage |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.10 | $9.35 |
| 2021 | $10.10 | $9.35 |
| 2022 | $12.00 | $11.00 |
| 2023 | $12.00 | $11.00 |
| 2024 | $14.00 | $12.75 |
| 2025 | $14.00 | $12.75 |
| 2026 | $16.00 | $14.50 |
Tipped figures show the cash wage after the allowed tip credit, which Act 114 raised alongside the full rate. The credit only applies when pay plus tips exceeds the minimum by a set margin.
Upcoming minimum wage increases in Hawaii
One large step remains: the Hawaii minimum wage rises to $18.00 on January 1, 2028, the last stop on the Act 114 schedule and the highest scheduled state rate in the country. The allowed tip credit also stays at $1.50 from 2026 onward.
Act 114 does not include inflation indexing after 2028, so what happens next is up to future legislatures. For workforce planning, Hawaii employers should build the $18.00 rate into 2028 budgets now; a two-dollar jump is a material change for hospitality margins.
Minimum wage by city in Hawaii
Hawaii has no county or city minimum wages; Honolulu, Hilo, Kailua-Kona, and Kahului all follow the statewide $16.00 rate.
The tourism economy sets the real market. Resort areas on Oahu, Maui, and the Kona coast compete intensely for hospitality staff, and with the nation's highest cost of living, many employers already pay above the minimum to fill housekeeping, food service, and front desk roles.
State rate; Waikiki hospitality demand pushes market pay higher
State rate applies
State rate; Kona coast resort corridor
State rate; Maui tourism labor market
What Hawaii employers need to know
The $7.00 tip credit test
The $1.50 tip credit is only valid when an employee's cash wage plus tips exceeds the minimum wage by at least $7.00 per hour ($23.00 total in 2026). Below that threshold, pay the full $16.00 in cash.
Coverage
Hawaii's minimum wage covers most employees, with exemptions including certain agricultural workers and employees earning guaranteed monthly compensation above a set threshold.
Overtime
Overtime is owed at 1.5x the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek. Hawaii has no daily overtime requirement.
Plan for 2028
The rate jumps to $18.00 on January 1, 2028. Build it into multi-year labor budgets and compensation bands now, since roles currently paying $16.00 to $18.00 will compress against the new floor.
How other states compare
See how Hawaii's $16.00 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 Hawaii labor department. Minimum wage laws change frequently; confirm current rates with those sources or legal counsel before setting pay.
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