Louisiana Minimum Wage 2026
The minimum wage in Louisiana 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 Louisiana in 2026?
Louisiana is one of the five states with no minimum wage law of any kind, so the federal $7.25 per hour is the only wage floor, in force since July 24, 2009. Workers at employers outside FLSA coverage have no statutory minimum, though such employers are rare.
Louisiana also holds one of the country's oldest local-wage preemption laws, on the books since 1997. New Orleans voters approved a citywide living wage in 2002, only to see the Louisiana Supreme Court uphold the state's preemption and void it. Every subsequent local attempt has met the same wall, keeping $7.25 the uniform legal rate statewide.
Tipped minimum wage in Louisiana
With no state wage statute, Louisiana tipped employees are governed entirely by federal rules: a cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour plus a tip credit of up to $5.12, with total earnings required to reach $7.25 per hour over each workweek.
In a hospitality economy the size of New Orleans, tip compliance is a front-line payroll task. Weekly shortfalls must be topped up by the employer, and because Louisiana has no state labor enforcement for wages, disputes escalate directly to the federal Department of Labor or federal court, where damages can double.
Louisiana 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 Louisiana
There are no scheduled increases. Because Louisiana has never enacted a state minimum wage, the rate changes only when Congress raises the federal minimum, or if the Legislature were to pass a first-ever state wage law.
State minimum wage bills are filed in Baton Rouge nearly every session, frequently proposing $10.00 or more, and they are voted down or left in committee just as regularly. With the 1997 preemption law also blocking city action, employers can expect the $7.25 floor to hold until federal policy shifts.
Minimum wage by city in Louisiana
Local minimum wages have been off the table in Louisiana since 1997, longer than in almost any other state. New Orleans tested the preemption law with a voter-approved living wage in 2002 and lost in the state's highest court; later efforts to revive the idea have also failed.
The legal floor is therefore $7.25 everywhere, but New Orleans behaves like a market apart. Hotels, restaurants, and event employers in a tourism-driven city routinely advertise starting pay well above minimum to keep service roles staffed through festival seasons.
Its 2002 voter-approved living wage was struck down under the 1997 preemption law
Federal rate; petrochemical and university employers dominate local pay setting
Federal rate applies; no city wage authority exists
Federal rate; energy-sector cycles swing local hourly wages above the floor
What Louisiana employers need to know
Coverage
Only the FLSA applies in Louisiana: enterprises with $500,000 or more in annual sales or employees engaged in interstate commerce owe $7.25. Employers outside that coverage face no wage floor because there is no state statute behind it.
Overtime
Federal overtime is the only overtime: 1.5x the regular rate past 40 hours in a workweek. Louisiana adds no state overtime, daily limits, or premium pay days.
Tipped employees
The $2.13 cash wage plus tip credit is standard across the state's large hospitality sector. Confirm the weekly $7.25 guarantee, give tip credit notice up front, and audit tip pools for compliance with federal rules on manager participation.
Posting and records
Post the federal FLSA poster and keep payroll records for three years. There is no Louisiana state wage poster or state wage claim office; enforcement runs through the federal DOL.
How other states compare
See how Louisiana'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 Louisiana labor department. Minimum wage laws change frequently; confirm current rates with those sources or legal counsel before setting pay.
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