Maine Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official Maine Department of LaborMaine's minimum wage is $15.10 per hour in 2026, set by the state and above the federal minimum of $7.25. This Maine minimum wage calculator turns that hourly rate into the numbers that actually matter to you: weekly, monthly and yearly pay. At $15.10 an hour, someone working a full 40-hour week earns about $604.00 before tax, or roughly $31,408.00 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 Maine 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 Maine Department of Labor; the pay calculation is simply hours times the rate.
Maine's 2026 minimum wage is $15.10 per hour. Full time (40 hrs/week) that is about $604.00 a week and $31,408.00 a year before tax.
How Maine 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 Maine income tax, Social Security and Medicare. Your take-home pay is lower; see our Maine paycheck calculator for the after-tax amount.
Maine indexes its wage every January
Maine's minimum wage rose to $15.10 an hour on January 1, 2026, up from $14.65 the year before. That increase was not a legislative vote: Maine ties its minimum to the Consumer Price Index for the Northeast region and recalculates every January, so the figure creeps up automatically with the cost of living. It is one of a small number of states where the wage moves on its own each year, which is why a rate you memorized last year is almost certainly stale now.
Local rules add another wrinkle. Portland and Rockland set their own higher city minimums, and Portland's has run comfortably above the state floor, so a barista downtown and a barista in Bangor are not on the same number. The rate on this page is the statewide baseline; a city ordinance can only raise it, never lower it.
For tipped service workers, Maine uses a clean rule: the direct cash wage is exactly half the minimum, which puts it at $7.55 an hour in 2026, and it applies to employees who regularly earn more than $191 a month in tips. Cash wages plus tips must reach $15.10; if they fall short, the employer makes up the difference. Because the cash portion is pegged at 50 percent, it climbs in step with the full minimum every January rather than staying frozen.
Maine minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in Maine in 2026?
Maine's minimum wage is $15.10 per hour in 2026, set by the state and above the federal minimum of $7.25. At $15.10 an hour, a full-time worker (40 hours a week) earns about $604.00 a week and $31,408.00 a year before tax. This rate took effect on January 1, 2026.
How much is full-time minimum wage in Maine per year?
At Maine's $15.10 minimum wage, 40 hours a week for 52 weeks is 2,080 hours, which comes to about $31,408.00 a year ($2,617.33 a month) in gross pay before tax and deductions. Part-time hours scale down from there; use the calculator to enter your own hours.
Does Maine's minimum wage change every year?
Yes. Maine adjusts its minimum wage each year for inflation (cost of living), so it typically rises a little every January. Always check the current figure with the Maine Department of Labor before relying on it.
What is the tipped minimum wage in Maine?
Maine lets employers pay tipped workers a lower cash wage of $7.55 an hour and count up to $7.55 of tips toward the minimum (a "tip credit"). If cash wage plus tips does not reach $15.10 an hour, the employer must make up the difference. See our Maine tipped minimum wage calculator for the full breakdown.
Is Maine's minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage?
Yes. Maine's $15.10 is $7.85 an hour above the federal minimum of $7.25, which works out to about $16,328.00 more a year for a full-time worker.
Official sources
- Maine 2026 minimum wage rate: Maine Department of Labor, 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. Rose from $14.65 to $15.10 on 2026-01-01; adjusted annually for CPI-W (Northeast region). Local minimums: Portland and Rockland set higher local minimums.