New Hampshire Minimum Wage 2026
The minimum wage in New Hampshire is $7.25 per hour in 2026, effective July 24, 2009. Tipped employees can be paid a cash wage of $3.26 per hour, as long as tips bring them to the full minimum.
What is the minimum wage in New Hampshire in 2026?
The New Hampshire minimum wage is $7.25 per hour in 2026. The state took an unusual step in 2011: it repealed its own minimum wage rate and rewrote the statute to simply defer to the federal number, so New Hampshire's floor has been whatever Congress sets, which means $7.25 since July 24, 2009.
That leaves New Hampshire as the lone $7.25 state in New England, surrounded on every side by dramatically higher rates: Massachusetts at $15.00, Maine at $15.10, and Vermont at $14.42. Cross-border commuting is the defining wage story here, with southern New Hampshire workers able to double their legal minimum by driving into Massachusetts.
Tipped minimum wage in New Hampshire
New Hampshire calculates its tipped minimum wage as 45 percent of the applicable minimum, which works out to $3.26 per hour, well above the federal $2.13. It applies to employees of restaurants, hotels, and similar businesses who customarily receive more than $30 a month in tips.
The percentage formula is a quiet advantage for tipped workers: if the federal minimum ever rises, New Hampshire's tipped base rises automatically with it. As everywhere, tips plus the cash wage must reach $7.25 per hour, and the New Hampshire Department of Labor actively enforces shortfall and record-keeping rules.
New Hampshire minimum wage history: 2020 to 2026
| Year | Minimum wage | Tipped wage |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $7.25 | $3.26 |
| 2021 | $7.25 | $3.26 |
| 2022 | $7.25 | $3.26 |
| 2023 | $7.25 | $3.26 |
| 2024 | $7.25 | $3.26 |
| 2025 | $7.25 | $3.26 |
| 2026 | $7.25 | $3.26 |
Upcoming minimum wage increases in New Hampshire
Nothing is scheduled. Because the 2011 repeal tied New Hampshire's minimum to federal law, an increase requires either Congress acting or the General Court in Concord restoring a state-set rate above $7.25.
Restoration bills, typically proposing $12.00 to $15.00 phased in over several years, have passed the legislature more than once in the past decade only to be vetoed, and more recent versions have failed outright. Meanwhile the regional labor market has moved on: with every neighboring state's floor at roughly double New Hampshire's, most employers already pay far above $7.25 to hire at all.
Minimum wage by city in New Hampshire
New Hampshire municipalities have no authority to set local minimum wages, so the $7.25 federal-linked rate is the legal floor in every city and town.
Geography does what ordinances cannot. Manchester and Nashua sit within commuting range of the Massachusetts border, where the minimum is $15.00, and Portsmouth competes with Maine's $15.10 market just across the Piscataqua River. Hourly job postings in these cities reflect New England market rates, not the statutory floor.
Legal floor only; the state's largest labor market prices near Massachusetts levels
Minutes from the Massachusetts line, where the minimum is $15.00, so offers must compete
Federal-linked rate; state government and healthcare anchor local wages
Seacoast tourism market competes with Maine's $15.10 minimum across the river
What New Hampshire employers need to know
The 45 percent tipped formula
Pay tipped employees at least 45 percent of the minimum wage, currently $3.26 per hour, in direct cash wages. Tips must bring total hourly earnings to $7.25, and employers must keep true records of tips received to justify the credit.
Youth and training rates
New Hampshire allows a sub-minimum of 75 percent of the federal rate for employees under 16 and certain trainees. Verify eligibility narrowly before applying any sub-minimum rate.
Overtime
Overtime follows the FLSA at 1.5x after 40 hours per workweek. New Hampshire adds no daily overtime, but note the state's strict rules on paying employees within specified paydays.
Posting and records
Display both the federal poster and New Hampshire's state labor law poster. The NH Department of Labor conducts regular audits and penalizes record-keeping failures, including missing tip records, even when no wages are owed.
How other states compare
See how New Hampshire'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 New Hampshire labor department. Minimum wage laws change frequently; confirm current rates with those sources or legal counsel before setting pay.
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