Illinois Minimum Wage 2026: $15.00/hr Statewide, $17.05/hr in Chicago

Illinois minimum wage reached $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2025, under a phased-in schedule established by Public Act 101-0001, signed by Governor JB Pritzker in 2019. The law raised the rate from $8.25/hr in 2019 to $15.00/hr over six years, making Illinois the first Midwestern state to reach $15.00/hr.

What Is the Illinois Minimum Wage in 2026?

$15.00 per hour, effective January 1, 2026. This applies to all employers statewide. The rate is enforced by the Illinois Department of Labor. Unlike some states, Illinois does not have automatic inflation indexing — future increases beyond $15.00/hr would require new legislation.

Illinois also does not set its own separate salary threshold for overtime-exempt employees. Instead, it follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act threshold of $684 per week ($35,568 per year) for determining which salaried employees are exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements — so a salaried worker's exemption status in Illinois is decided by the same dollar threshold used nationwide, not a separate state figure.

Illinois' minimum wage increase was established by Public Act 101-0001 (the Lifting Up Illinois Working Families Act), which set a schedule of increases from $8.25/hr in 2019 to $15.00/hr by 2025. The law also raised the tipped minimum wage from $4.95/hr to $9.00/hr over the same period.

Illinois' Minimum Wage Phase-In Schedule

Public Act 101-0001 didn't just set a target — it laid out the exact year-by-year path Illinois followed to get from $8.25/hr to $15.00/hr. Here's how the statewide rate climbed each year under that schedule:

• 2019: $8.25/hr (the rate before the law took effect)
• 2020: $10.00/hr, effective July 1, 2020
• 2021: $11.00/hr, effective January 1, 2021
• 2022: $12.00/hr, effective January 1, 2022
• 2023: $13.00/hr, effective January 1, 2023
• 2024: $14.00/hr, effective January 1, 2024
• 2025: $15.00/hr, effective January 1, 2025

Illinois has held at $15.00/hr since reaching the top of that schedule, and the rate carries forward unchanged into 2026 because the law didn't build in automatic increases once the phase-in finished. Any move past $15.00/hr statewide would need new action from the General Assembly.

What the Minimum Wage Means in Take-Home Pay

An hourly figure doesn't always make the real-world impact obvious. Here's what these rates look like across a standard 40-hour work week, a typical two-week pay period, and a full year — for both the statewide rate and Chicago's higher local rate. All figures are gross pay, before taxes and other withholdings.

At the statewide rate of $15.00/hr, a full-time worker earns $600.00 for a 40-hour week, $1,200.00 over a typical two-week pay period, and $31,200.00 annualized over 2,080 hours — the same figure cited in the quick answer above.

At Chicago's local rate of $17.05/hr, that same 40-hour week produces $682.00 in weekly pay, $1,364.00 per two-week pay period, and $35,464.00 annualized. That works out to $164.00 more per pay period, and roughly $4,264.00 more per year, than an employee earning the statewide minimum wage — the added cost of doing business inside Chicago's city limits, reflected directly in the paycheck.

Chicago Minimum Wage

Chicago has its own minimum wage ordinance that is higher than the state rate:

• All employers: $17.05/hr, effective July 1, 2026
• Tipped workers: $12.96/hr cash wage

Chicago's minimum wage is adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index, so it rises automatically each year. The city's ordinance applies to all employees who work within Chicago city limits, regardless of where the employer is based. Notably, Chicago's rate is a single unified figure — it doesn't split employers into "large" and "small" tiers the way some other cities' local ordinances do; every covered employer in the city pays the same $17.05/hr floor.

Cook County Minimum Wage

Cook County (which includes Chicago and surrounding suburbs) has its own minimum wage ordinance, but it currently matches the state rate of $15.00/hr. The county ordinance applies to unincorporated areas and municipalities within Cook County that have not opted out. Many suburban municipalities have opted out of the Cook County ordinance, in which case the state rate applies.

Illinois Tipped Minimum Wage

Illinois allows a tip credit. The statewide tipped cash wage is $9.00 per hour, with employers allowed to claim a tip credit of up to $6.00/hr toward the $15.00 full minimum wage. In Chicago, the tipped cash wage is higher -- $12.96/hr for all employers.

In practice, that means a tipped employee working a 40-hour week under the statewide rate must receive at least $360.00 in direct cash wages from their employer ($9.00 x 40 hours). If that worker's tips average less than $6.00/hr, the employer is legally required to make up the difference so total pay reaches at least $600.00 for the week — the equivalent of the full $15.00/hr state minimum wage. Any tips earned above $6.00/hr belong to the worker on top of that.

Chicago's tipped minimum wage works the same way, just with a higher cash floor. A Chicago tipped worker must receive at least $12.96/hr in direct wages — $518.40 for a 40-hour week — with the employer required to cover any shortfall in tips (Chicago's implied tip credit works out to $4.09/hr) so total weekly pay reaches at least $682.00, matching Chicago's $17.05/hr minimum wage.

How Illinois Compares to Neighboring States

At $15.00/hr, Illinois has the highest minimum wage in the Midwest. Neighboring states: Indiana ($7.25/hr), Iowa ($7.25/hr), Wisconsin ($7.25/hr), Kentucky ($7.25/hr), Missouri ($15.00/hr after 2026 increase). Illinois and Missouri are the only Midwestern states at $15.00/hr, making the region a patchwork of high and low wage floors.

Four of Illinois' five neighbors — Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Kentucky — sit at the $7.25/hr federal minimum, and each has a state law or court ruling blocking cities and counties from setting a higher local rate. Indiana Code § 22-2-2-10.5 bars Indiana municipalities from enacting their own minimum wage ordinances. Iowa Code § 331.301(6), passed in 2017, nullified prior local increases in counties including Johnson, Linn, and Wapello. Wisconsin Statute § 104.001 voided any local minimum wage ordinances that existed before June 2005 and prohibits new ones. And in Kentucky, a 2016 state Supreme Court ruling (Kentucky Restaurant Association v. Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government) struck down Louisville's and Lexington's local minimum wage ordinances, holding that the state already occupies that regulatory field.

Missouri is the exception among Illinois' neighbors, matching the $15.00/hr Illinois state rate as of 2026. But Missouri also preempts local minimum wages, under RSMo Section 285.055 (enacted 2017), which nullified earlier St. Louis and Kansas City ordinances. Illinois takes the opposite approach: state law does not preempt local minimum wage ordinances, which is exactly why Chicago — and, in principle, Cook County municipalities — remain free to set their own higher local rates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Illinois minimum wage go up every year?

Not automatically. Illinois reached $15.00/hr on January 1, 2025, at the top of the schedule set by Public Act 101-0001, and the law didn't include automatic annual increases after that point. Any further increase to the statewide rate would require the state legislature to pass new legislation.

Is Chicago's minimum wage different for small businesses?

No. Chicago's $17.05/hr minimum wage applies to all employers within city limits regardless of company size — there's no separate lower rate for small businesses in Chicago the way some other cities structure their local wage ordinances.

Does Cook County have its own minimum wage separate from Chicago?

Cook County has its own minimum wage ordinance, but it currently matches Illinois' statewide rate of $15.00/hr rather than Chicago's higher $17.05/hr rate. It applies only in unincorporated areas and suburbs that haven't opted out — and many Cook County municipalities have opted out, in which case the state rate applies by default.

What is the tipped minimum wage in Illinois?

The statewide tipped minimum wage is $9.00/hr in direct cash wages, with employers permitted a tip credit of up to $6.00/hr toward the full $15.00/hr minimum. In Chicago, tipped workers must receive at least $12.96/hr in cash wages, regardless of employer size.

How does Illinois' minimum wage compare to nearby states?

At $15.00/hr, Illinois has the highest statewide minimum wage in the Midwest alongside Missouri, which also reached $15.00/hr in 2026. Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Kentucky all remain at the $7.25/hr federal minimum, and each preempts its cities and counties from setting a higher local rate.

Who enforces the Illinois minimum wage?

The Illinois Department of Labor enforces state minimum wage law, including compliance with the Chicago and Cook County local ordinances layered on top of it. Workers who believe they've been underpaid can file a wage claim through the department.

Related: States with the Highest Minimum Wage · Tipped Minimum Wage Explained · Illinois Minimum Wage Data Page