Current Minimum Wage
Montana minimum wage$10.85since January 1, 2026

State minimum wage

Montana minimum wage

$10.85 an hour as of September 2, 2026. Tipped cash wage $10.85.

  • The Montana minimum wage is $10.85 an hour, set by state law effective .
  • The next change is on : an indexed adjustment, amount to be announced.
  • Tipped employees must be paid at least $10.85 in cash and there is no tip credit.
  • At $10.85 an hour, full-time work (2,080 hours) pays $22,568 a year before taxes.

Tipped cash wage

$10.85
No tip credit allowed

Youth / training

None
No training or youth subminimum; the full minimum wage applies (agency: 'No tip credit, meal credit, or training wage is allowed').

Next change

Indexed, TBA
· indexed-unannounced

Local rates

None found
Not verified. MCA 39-3-409 contains no local-preemption language; no other Montana statute was checked.

Scheduled increases in Montana

January 1, 20271 jurisdiction
StateTBA
Montanaindexed-unannounced · Department computes the cost-of-living adjustment by September 30, 2026 from the August 2025 to August 2026 CPI change, rounded to the nearest 5...
TBAindexed, amount to be announced

Rate tiers

TierRateRule
Business not covered by FLSA with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less$4.00May pay $4.00/hour unless the individual employee is covered by the FLSA.

Coverage, exemptions, and history

Who is covered. All employees, except a business not covered by the FLSA whose gross annual sales are $110,000 or less may pay $4.00/hour..

Tipped employees. No tip credit, meal credit, or training wage is allowed under Montana wage and hour law.

Indexing. Adjusted by Consumer Price Index, August of preceding year to August of current year... on January 1 annually ; announced Department of Labor & Industry by September 30.

Recent history. Indexed increases began Jan 1, 2008 (NCSL). Agency history: 2020 $8.65, 2021 $8.75, 2022 $9.20, 2023 $9.95, 2024 $10.30, 2025 $10.55, 2026 $10.85.

Statute floor is the greater of the federal rate or $6.15, then adjusted annually by CPI.

Statute. Mont.

Common questions

What is the minimum wage in Montana?

$10.85 an hour as of September 2, 2026, under state law effective January 1, 2026.

When does the Montana minimum wage go up next?

On January 1, 2027, by an indexed amount the agency will announce.

What is the tipped minimum wage in Montana?

$10.85 in cash, with no tip credit allowed.

Do any cities in Montana have a higher minimum wage?

None were found in effect.

Sources

  1. https://erd.dli.mt.gov/labor-standards/wage-and-hour-payment-act/state-minimum-wage official
  2. https://erd.dli.mt.gov/labor-standards/wage-and-hour-payment-act/minimum-wage-history official
  3. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state official
  4. https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0390/chapter_0030/part_0040/section_0090/0390-0030-0040-0090.html official
  5. https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wages

Checked 2026-09-02 against Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Employment Standards Division; researcher confidence 0.92.