Maryland Minimum Wage 2026
The minimum wage in Maryland is $15.00 per hour in 2026, effective January 1, 2024. Tipped employees can be paid a cash wage of $3.63 per hour, as long as tips bring them to the full minimum.
What is the minimum wage in Maryland in 2026?
The Maryland minimum wage is $15.00 per hour in 2026. The state reached that level on January 1, 2024, when the Fair Wage Act of 2023 accelerated the timeline and applied $15.00 to employers of every size at once, scrapping the old small-employer track that would have phased in more slowly.
The statewide rate is flat, with no inflation indexing, so it has now held at $15.00 for three years. The bigger compliance story in Maryland is at the county level: Montgomery County and Howard County both set their own higher minimums, and the Washington, DC suburbs are effectively a different wage market from the rest of the state.
Tipped minimum wage in Maryland
The tipped minimum wage in Maryland is $3.63 per hour in direct cash wages, exactly half of the old federal-era baseline the state locked in years ago. Tips must bring every tipped employee to the full $15.00 per hour each workweek, with employers making up any shortfall.
Maryland also requires tipped-wage employers in restaurants to provide a wage statement each pay period showing the effective hourly rate including tips. In Montgomery and Howard Counties, run the shortfall test against the higher county minimum, not the state's $15.00.
Maryland minimum wage history: 2020 to 2026
| Year | Minimum wage | Tipped wage |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $11.00 | $3.63 |
| 2021 | $11.75 | $3.63 |
| 2022 | $12.50 | $3.63 |
| 2023 | $13.25 | $3.63 |
| 2024 | $15.00 | $3.63 |
| 2025 | $15.00 | $3.63 |
| 2026 | $15.00 | $3.63 |
Rates shown are the large-employer track. Before 2024, small employers followed a slightly lower schedule that the Fair Wage Act eliminated.
Upcoming minimum wage increases in Maryland
No statewide increases are scheduled. The Fair Wage Act ended at $15.00 without indexing; an earlier plan to tie future adjustments to inflation was dropped before passage, so the next move requires new legislation in Annapolis.
County rates are another matter. Montgomery County adjusts its tiered minimums every July 1, with the large-employer rate already above $17.00, and Howard County continues its own phase-in schedule. Employers in either county should confirm the current figures every summer.
Minimum wage by city in Maryland
Maryland's wage map splits in two. Most of the state, including Baltimore and Annapolis, follows the $15.00 statewide minimum. The Washington, DC suburbs do not: Montgomery County sets tiered rates by employer size, with large employers above $17.00, and Howard County runs its own schedule above the state rate.
Both counties adjust on cycles separate from the state (Montgomery each July 1), so a multi-county employer needs location-level payroll rules. Remote employees working from home inside Montgomery or Howard County are covered by the county rate too.
State rate applies
Higher tiered county rates by employer size; large employers above $17.00, adjusts each July 1; confirm the current figure
County minimum above the state rate on its own schedule; confirm the current figure
State rate applies
What Maryland employers need to know
County rates override the state rate
In Montgomery and Howard Counties, pay the county minimum, which is higher than $15.00 and varies by employer size in Montgomery. Map every work location, including home offices, to the correct jurisdiction.
Tipped employees
The cash wage is $3.63 per hour, and tips must bring pay to the applicable minimum ($15.00 statewide, higher in Montgomery and Howard). Restaurant employers must issue wage statements showing the effective hourly rate with tips.
Overtime
Maryland requires 1.5x pay after 40 hours in a workweek, with industry-specific exceptions such as certain agricultural employers at 60 hours.
Posting and records
Post the current Maryland minimum wage notice, plus the county wage poster where Montgomery or Howard rates apply, and retain payroll and tip records for at least three years.
How other states compare
See how Maryland'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 Maryland labor department. Minimum wage laws change frequently; confirm current rates with those sources or legal counsel before setting pay.
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