Delaware Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Industrial AffairsDelaware's minimum wage is $15.00 per hour in 2026, set by the state and above the federal minimum of $7.25. This Delaware minimum wage calculator turns that hourly rate into the numbers that actually matter to you: weekly, monthly and yearly pay. At $15.00 an hour, someone working a full 40-hour week earns about $600.00 before tax, or roughly $31,200.00 across a full year. Enter your own hours per week and weeks worked to see your gross pay, and edit the rate if you are paid above the minimum. The minimum wage is a floor, not a ceiling: employers can pay more, and some cities in Delaware set their own higher local minimums. Tipped workers can be paid a lower cash wage as long as tips bring them up to the minimum; see the tipped calculator for that. The figure here is the state rate for 2026, sourced directly from the Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Industrial Affairs; the pay calculation is simply hours times the rate.
Delaware's 2026 minimum wage is $15.00 per hour. Full time (40 hrs/week) that is about $600.00 a week and $31,200.00 a year before tax.
How Delaware minimum wage pay is calculated
weekly pay = hourly rate x hours per week
annual pay = hourly rate x hours per week x weeks per year
overtime = hourly rate x 1.5 (hours over 40 in a week, FLSA)
These are gross figures before federal and Delaware income tax, Social Security and Medicare. Your take-home pay is lower; see our Delaware paycheck calculator for the after-tax amount.
Why Delaware's $15.00 rate stops climbing here
Delaware hit $15.00 an hour on January 1, 2025, the last step of the phase-in that lawmakers set in 2021. Because the state does not tie the rate to inflation, it stays at $15.00 through 2026 and will only move again if the General Assembly passes a new law. That puts Delaware in the same tier as neighboring Maryland, while a worker who crosses into Pennsylvania drops all the way to the federal floor of $7.25. Full time, Delaware's $15.00 works out to about $31,200.00 a year before tax.
The tipped rules trip people up. Delaware lets an employer pay a cash wage of just $2.23 an hour and claim up to $12.77 as a tip credit, but only if the worker's tips actually carry them to $15.00. Delaware's $2.23 cash floor sits slightly above the federal $2.13, and the credit is large simply because the full minimum is high. If tips fall short in any week, the employer owes the difference in cash.
The common mistake is assuming the number will keep rising each January the way it does in indexed states like New Jersey. It will not. Treat $15.00 as a fixed figure for now, confirm it against the Delaware Department of Labor before you rely on it for payroll, and remember that a city could set a higher local minimum on top of the state rate.
Delaware minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in Delaware in 2026?
Delaware's minimum wage is $15.00 per hour in 2026, set by the state and above the federal minimum of $7.25. At $15.00 an hour, a full-time worker (40 hours a week) earns about $600.00 a week and $31,200.00 a year before tax. This rate took effect on January 1, 2025.
How much is full-time minimum wage in Delaware per year?
At Delaware's $15.00 minimum wage, 40 hours a week for 52 weeks is 2,080 hours, which comes to about $31,200.00 a year ($2,600.00 a month) in gross pay before tax and deductions. Part-time hours scale down from there; use the calculator to enter your own hours.
Is Delaware's minimum wage going up?
Delaware does not automatically index its minimum wage to inflation, so it changes only when the law changes. The figure here is the 2026 rate verified with the Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Industrial Affairs.
What is the tipped minimum wage in Delaware?
Delaware lets employers pay tipped workers a lower cash wage of $2.23 an hour and count up to $12.77 of tips toward the minimum (a "tip credit"). If cash wage plus tips does not reach $15.00 an hour, the employer must make up the difference. See our Delaware tipped minimum wage calculator for the full breakdown.
Is Delaware's minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage?
Yes. Delaware's $15.00 is $7.75 an hour above the federal minimum of $7.25, which works out to about $16,120.00 more a year for a full-time worker.
Official sources
- Delaware 2026 minimum wage rate: Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Industrial Affairs, as at July 11, 2026.
- Federal minimum wage ($7.25) and overtime rules: US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 11 July 2026. See our methodology. General information, not legal or financial advice. Reached $15.00 on January 1, 2025 (final scheduled step); unchanged for 2026. Not indexed.