Washington Minimum Wage 2026
The minimum wage in Washington is $17.13 per hour in 2026, effective January 1, 2026. Washington does not allow a tip credit, so tipped employees earn the full minimum wage plus tips.
What is the minimum wage in Washington in 2026?
The Washington minimum wage is $17.13 per hour as of January 1, 2026, up from $16.66 in 2025. It is the highest state minimum wage in the nation, adjusted every January based on the Consumer Price Index under a system voters approved in 2016.
The state rate is only the starting point. Washington has the country's most active landscape of city minimum wages, with Seattle, SeaTac, Tukwila, Renton, Bellingham, and Burien all setting higher local rates. A retailer with sites around Puget Sound can easily face four different minimums.
Tipped minimum wage in Washington
Washington does not allow a tip credit. Every tipped employee, from Seattle servers to Spokane baristas, must receive the full applicable minimum wage in cash before tips. Tips and service charges belong to workers on top of that.
The combination of no tip credit and the nation's highest floor makes Washington the most expensive state in which to staff a restaurant at minimum wage. In Seattle, where the city rate applies, the required cash wage climbs several dollars higher still.
Washington minimum wage history: 2020 to 2026
| Year | Minimum wage | Tipped wage |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $13.50 | $13.50 |
| 2021 | $13.69 | $13.69 |
| 2022 | $14.49 | $14.49 |
| 2023 | $15.74 | $15.74 |
| 2024 | $16.28 | $16.28 |
| 2025 | $16.66 | $16.66 |
| 2026 | $17.13 | $17.13 |
Upcoming minimum wage increases in Washington
Washington's minimum wage adjusts every January 1 based on CPI, so a further increase on January 1, 2027 is effectively guaranteed. The Department of Labor and Industries announces the new rate each fall.
City rates move on their own schedules, most also in January. Seattle's ordinance adjusts annually for inflation, and newer ordinances in Tukwila, Renton, Burien, and Bellingham follow their own formulas, so multi-site employers should re-verify every local rate at year end.
Minimum wage by city in Washington
Washington cities set higher minimum wages more aggressively than anywhere else in the country. Seattle's citywide rate is around $21.00 per hour and adjusts each January (confirm the current figure with the city's Office of Labor Standards). SeaTac pioneered the model with a rate for hospitality and transportation workers, and Tukwila's ordinance is among the highest in the US.
Renton, Bellingham, and Burien have joined with their own ordinances, several of which vary by employer size. If you hire hourly workers around Puget Sound, map every work site to its ordinance and re-check each January; the state's $17.13 is the floor, not the answer, in much of the metro area.
Citywide rate around $21.00, adjusts each January; confirm the current figure with the city
Higher rate for hospitality and transportation workers under the city's ordinance
Local ordinance among the highest minimum wages in the US; check the current figure
State rate applies
What Washington employers need to know
Location-based rates
Apply the rate where the work happens. An employee splitting shifts between Seattle and an unincorporated area is owed different rates for different hours, and several city ordinances also vary by employer size.
No tip credit
Pay the full applicable minimum in cash wages. Tips and automatically added service charges belong to employees under Washington law and cannot offset the wage.
Youth rates
Workers aged 14 and 15 may be paid 85 percent of the state minimum ($14.56 in 2026). Sixteen and seventeen year olds are owed the full rate.
Annual January updates
The state rate and most city rates change every January 1. Audit all work-site rates each fall when Labor and Industries and the cities publish new figures.
How other states compare
See how Washington's $17.13 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 Washington labor department. Minimum wage laws change frequently; confirm current rates with those sources or legal counsel before setting pay.
Hiring hourly workers in Washington?
Post your job for free.
Hirex helps you post jobs, screen applicants, and hire faster in one dashboard, so staying compliant on pay is the only hard part you handle alone. No credit card needed.
