Quick Answer: New Jersey's minimum wage is $15.49 per hour in 2026, effective January 1. The rate is adjusted annually for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index. New Jersey reached $15.13/hr in 2024 under a phased-in schedule and now rises automatically each year.
- Statewide minimum wage: $15.49/hr
- Annual salary at 40 hrs/wk: $32,219
- Tipped minimum wage: $5.62/hr
- Tip credit employers may claim: up to $9.87/hr
- Local minimum wage ordinances: none — New Jersey has no city or county rate above the state minimum
New Jersey minimum wage reached $15.13 per hour on January 1, 2024 -- the year the phased-in schedule established under a law signed by Governor Phil Murphy in 2019 crossed the $15/hr mark. The rate is now indexed to inflation and adjusts automatically every January 1. During the phase-in years, the 2019 law used separate, slower schedules for small employers, seasonal workers, and agricultural workers; state records don't confirm current 2026 rates for those categories, so employers in those groups should verify directly with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development before running payroll. Everything else in this guide -- the standard rate, the tipped wage, and the annual salary equivalent -- is confirmed against current state data.
What Is the New Jersey Minimum Wage in 2026?
$15.49 per hour for most employers, effective January 1, 2026. This is a cost-of-living adjustment from the 2025 rate of $15.13/hr. The rate is set by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and is adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
New Jersey's minimum wage increase was established by Chapter 1 of the Laws of 2019, which set a schedule of increases to $15.00/hr by 2024 for most employers, with a slower phase-in for small employers, seasonal workers, and agricultural workers.
New Jersey Minimum Wage by Employer Type
| Employer Type | Hourly Rate | Annual Salary (40 hrs/wk) |
|---|---|---|
| Most employers | $15.49 | $32,219 |
| Tipped workers (cash wage) | $5.62 | $11,690 |
Source: New Jersey Department of Labor, effective January 1, 2026. New Jersey's overtime-exempt salary threshold is $684/week ($35,568/year), following the federal FLSA level.
A Worked Pay-Period Example
Here's what that hourly rate actually means on a paycheck. A full-time worker earning $15.49/hr for a standard 40-hour week grosses $619.60 before taxes and deductions. Over a typical two-week pay period, that's $1,239.20 gross. Multiplied across a full year at 40 hours/week, 52 weeks, that comes out to the $32,219 annual figure in the table above.
Overtime works the same way it does anywhere else covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act: hours worked beyond 40 in a single workweek must be paid at 1.5 times the regular rate. At $15.49/hr, that overtime rate is $23.24/hr ($15.49 x 1.5). So a worker who logs 45 hours in a week is owed 40 hours at $15.49/hr plus 5 hours at $23.24/hr -- $619.60 plus $116.20, for a weekly gross of $735.80.
New Jersey Tipped Minimum Wage
New Jersey allows a tip credit. The tipped cash wage is $5.62 per hour, with employers allowed to claim a tip credit of up to $9.87/hr toward the $15.49 full minimum wage. Add the two together and they equal the standard minimum wage: $5.62 + $9.87 = $15.49. If tips do not bring the employee to $15.49/hr in any workweek, the employer must pay the difference -- the tip credit is a ceiling on what an employer can count toward the minimum, not a guarantee.
To see how that plays out in practice: a server who works 30 hours in a week is paid a direct cash wage of $168.60 (30 x $5.62). For the employer to legally claim the full tip credit, that server needs to average at least $9.87/hr in tips, or $296.10 for the week, bringing total compensation to $464.70 -- exactly 30 hours at the full $15.49/hr minimum. If the same server only brings in $200 in tips that week, the employer owes an additional $96.10 to make up the shortfall, since New Jersey law requires cash wages plus tips to meet the full minimum wage every workweek, not just on average over a longer period.
How New Jersey's Minimum Wage Got to $15 -- and Where It's Headed
New Jersey's path to a $15/hr minimum wage was gradual and legislated years in advance. Chapter 1 of the Laws of 2019, signed by Governor Phil Murphy in February 2019, laid out a fixed year-by-year schedule for most employers:
- 2022: $13.00/hr
- 2023: $14.13/hr
- 2024: $15.13/hr -- the year the state crossed the $15/hr threshold
- 2025: $15.13/hr -- no change, as the CPI-W showed minimal movement
- 2026: $15.49/hr -- a roughly 2.4% cost-of-living increase
Once the legislated $15/hr target was reached in 2024, New Jersey shifted to automatic annual adjustments tied to the CPI-W, so the state minimum wage no longer requires new legislation to rise -- it moves each January 1 based on the prior year's inflation data, the same CPI-based approach a growing number of states have adopted once their own phased-in schedules reached their target rate. That's why New Jersey's rate held flat between 2024 and 2025 before ticking up again for 2026: inflation, not a legislative calendar, now drives the number.
How New Jersey Compares to Neighboring States
At $15.49/hr, New Jersey's minimum wage is higher than Pennsylvania ($7.25/hr) but lower than New York ($16.00-$17.00/hr). This creates a significant wage gradient across the Delaware River -- a worker in Philadelphia earns a legal minimum of $7.25/hr, while a worker 10 miles away in Camden or Cherry Hill earns $15.49/hr. This disparity has implications for cross-border labor markets in the Philadelphia and New York City metro areas.
The New York side of the border tells a more layered story. New York City, Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk counties), and Westchester County all share a $17.00/hr minimum wage in 2026, while the rest of New York State -- including areas just across the Hudson from northern New Jersey -- sits at $16.00/hr. That means a worker commuting from Jersey City or Hoboken into Manhattan can earn up to $1.51/hr more than New Jersey's rate for the exact same entry-level work, without changing jobs, only crossing the river. Pennsylvania sits at the opposite extreme: it has been frozen at the $7.25/hr federal floor since 2009, and state law preempts Philadelphia and Pittsburgh from setting their own higher local minimum wage. New Jersey, unlike Pennsylvania, has no such preemption on the books, but as of 2026 no New Jersey city or county has actually enacted a local minimum wage above the state rate -- the $15.49/hr figure applies uniformly statewide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the New Jersey minimum wage in 2026?
$15.49 per hour for most employers, effective January 1, 2026. It applies statewide -- no New Jersey city or county has its own higher local minimum wage.
Will the minimum wage increase again in 2027?
Very likely, since the rate is indexed to the CPI-W and has risen or held steady every year since the $15/hr law took effect, but the exact 2027 figure is not yet set -- it will be calculated from 2026 inflation data and announced by the state ahead of the January 1 effective date.
What is the tipped minimum wage in New Jersey?
$5.62 per hour in direct cash wages, with employers allowed to claim a tip credit of up to $9.87/hr. Combined with tips, a tipped worker's total pay must reach at least $15.49/hr every workweek, and the employer is responsible for covering any shortfall.
Does New Jersey have city or county minimum wage rates?
No. Unlike states such as New York, California, or Illinois, no New Jersey city or county currently sets its own minimum wage above the state rate. The $15.49/hr minimum applies the same in Newark, Camden, Trenton, and every other municipality.
How does New Jersey compare to New York and Pennsylvania?
New Jersey's $15.49/hr sits between the two neighbors: well above Pennsylvania, which remains at the $7.25/hr federal minimum, and below New York, where the rate ranges from $16.00/hr upstate to $17.00/hr in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County.
What happens if a tipped employee's wages and tips don't add up to $15.49/hr?
The employer must pay the difference. New Jersey's tip credit lets employers count tips toward the minimum wage, but only up to $9.87/hr -- it is not a guarantee that tips will cover the gap, and the law requires the shortfall to be made up in the same workweek it occurs.
Related: New York Minimum Wage Guide · Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Guide · New Jersey Minimum Wage Data Page
