Kansas Minimum Wage 2026
The minimum wage in Kansas 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 Kansas in 2026?
The Kansas minimum wage is $7.25 per hour in 2026, matching the federal rate that took effect July 24, 2009. The Kansas statute's main job is filling the coverage gap: it applies the same $7.25 to employees who fall outside the FLSA, so no Kansas worker is left without a wage floor.
Nowhere is the state's low floor more visible than in the Kansas City metro, which straddles the state line. Missouri's minimum wage is $15.00, so an employer in Kansas City, Kansas faces a legal floor less than half of what applies a few miles east in Kansas City, Missouri. Market wages across the metro converge far above $7.25, which keeps the Kansas floor largely symbolic in urban hiring.
Tipped minimum wage in Kansas
Kansas follows the federal tipped wage model: a cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour with a tip credit of up to $5.12, and a guarantee that tips plus wages equal at least $7.25 per hour over each workweek.
The compliance burden falls on payroll. Track reported tips per pay period, and whenever a tipped employee's combined earnings dip below $7.25 per hour for the week, add the difference to their paycheck. Shortfall claims are handled by the Kansas Department of Labor or the federal DOL.
Kansas 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 Kansas
Kansas has no scheduled increases. A higher floor would require either the Kansas Legislature amending the state wage act or a new federal minimum from Congress.
Proposals to raise the Kansas minimum, typically to $10.00 or more, have been introduced in Topeka in recent sessions but died without hearings. The practical driver of wage growth in the state remains the Missouri border: with the other half of the Kansas City metro at $15.00, Kansas-side employers already pay well above their legal floor to fill roles.
Minimum wage by city in Kansas
Kansas cities and counties do not set their own minimum wages, so the $7.25 rate is the legal floor statewide, from Wichita's aviation plants to the Johnson County suburbs.
The bi-state metro is the story here. Overland Park and Kansas City, Kansas employers recruit from the same labor pool as Missouri businesses bound by a $15.00 minimum, so posted wages on the Kansas side track the metro market rather than the state floor.
State rate; aerospace manufacturing anchors hourly pay well above the floor
State rate, but the metro labor market prices against Missouri's $15.00
Legal floor is $7.25 while the Missouri side of the same metro requires $15.00
State rate applies; state government is the dominant local employer
What Kansas employers need to know
State law as a backstop
The Kansas Minimum Wage and Maximum Hours Law covers employers not subject to the FLSA and sets the same $7.25 rate. In effect, every Kansas employee has a $7.25 floor, whether coverage comes from federal or state law.
Overtime
FLSA-covered employers pay 1.5x after 40 hours per workweek. Note that the Kansas state overtime law, which applies only to non-FLSA employers, uses a 46-hour weekly threshold instead.
Tipped employees
A $2.13 cash wage is permitted with the federal tip credit, verified against $7.25 weekly. Inform employees of the credit before relying on it and keep tip declarations with payroll records.
Posting and records
Post the federal minimum wage notice, and the Kansas wage poster if you have non-FLSA employees. Retain time and earnings records for at least three years.
How other states compare
See how Kansas'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 Kansas labor department. Minimum wage laws change frequently; confirm current rates with those sources or legal counsel before setting pay.
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