Current Minimum Wage
Alabama minimum wage$7.25since July 24, 2009

State minimum wage

Alabama minimum wage

$7.25 an hour as of September 2, 2026. Tipped cash wage $2.13.

  • The Alabama minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, set by state law effective .
  • No increase is currently scheduled in Alabama.
  • Tipped employees must be paid at least $2.13 in cash, with a tip credit of up to $5.12.
  • A youth or training wage of $4.25 applies: No state rule; federal youth wage ($4.25 for under-20s during first 90 consecutive calendar days) applies to FLSA-covered employers..
  • At $7.25 an hour, full-time work (2,080 hours) pays $15,080 a year before taxes.
  • Alabama law bars cities and counties from setting their own minimum wage.

Tipped cash wage

$2.13
Tip credit up to $5.12

Youth / training

$4.25
No state rule; federal youth wage ($4.25 for under-20s during first 90 consecutive calendar days) applies to FLSA-covered employers.

Next change

None scheduled
Set by statute; no indexing

Local rates

Preempted
Alabama Uniform Minimum Wage and Right-to-Work Act (Act 2016-18, Ala. Code 25-7-41 to 25-7-45) bars political subdivisions from requiring employers to pay a minimum wage; it voided Birmingham's 2016...

Coverage, exemptions, and history

Who is covered. FLSA-covered employers only; Alabama has no state minimum wage law.

Tipped employees. No state tipped-wage law; the federal $2.13 cash wage / $5.12 tip credit applies to FLSA-covered employers.

Recent history. No state minimum wage has ever been enacted; the 2016 preemption act (signed 2016-02-25) blocked Birmingham's $10.10 ordinance.

DOL: 'Employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the current Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.' Alabama DOL site contains no minimum wage content.

Statute. None (no state minimum wage statute); local preemption: Ala.

Common questions

What is the minimum wage in Alabama?

$7.25 an hour as of September 2, 2026, under state law effective July 24, 2009.

When does the Alabama minimum wage go up next?

No increase is scheduled.

What is the tipped minimum wage in Alabama?

$2.13 in cash plus tips; the employer must make up any shortfall to $7.25.

Do any cities in Alabama have a higher minimum wage?

No. State law preempts local minimum wage ordinances.

Sources

  1. https://adol.alabama.gov/ official
  2. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state official
  3. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/mw-consolidated official
  4. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped official
  5. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/15-tipped-employees-flsa official
  6. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/32-minimum-wage-youth official
  7. https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wages
  8. https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/inventory-of-us-city-and-county-minimum-wage-ordinances/
  9. https://www.nelp.org/insights-research/fighting-preemption-local-minimum-wage-laws/

Checked 2026-09-02 against Alabama Department of Labor...; researcher confidence 0.85.