Massachusetts Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official Commonwealth of MassachusettsMassachusetts's minimum wage is $15.00 per hour in 2026, set by the state and above the federal minimum of $7.25. This Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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 Commonwealth of Massachusetts; the pay calculation is simply hours times the rate.
Massachusetts'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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts income tax, Social Security and Medicare. Your take-home pay is lower; see our Massachusetts paycheck calculator for the after-tax amount.
Massachusetts froze at $15.00: what that means for your pay
Massachusetts reached $15.00 an hour on January 1, 2023, the end of a five-year phase-in, and then something unusual happened: the rate simply stopped moving. Unlike Maine, Connecticut and other New England neighbors that adjust their minimum each January for inflation, Massachusetts does not index its wage. It stays at $15.00 until the Legislature or the voters act, which means the real value of the state floor has slipped a little every year since 2023.
Voters had a chance to change part of that system in November 2024. Question 5 asked whether to gradually raise the tipped service rate until it matched the full minimum, ending the tip credit entirely. Massachusetts voters rejected it, so the two-tier structure remains in place.
That structure is worth understanding. The service rate is $6.75 an hour for employees who earn more than $20 a month in tips, and the employer must reconcile wages against tips at the end of each shift, not each week as under the looser federal rule. If cash wages plus tips do not average $15.00 across the shift, the employer owes the difference. Because the check happens shift by shift, a single quiet lunch can trigger a top-up even when a server's week looks strong overall.
Massachusetts minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in Massachusetts in 2026?
Massachusetts'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, 2023.
How much is full-time minimum wage in Massachusetts per year?
At Massachusetts'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 Massachusetts's minimum wage going up?
Massachusetts 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 Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
What is the tipped minimum wage in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts lets employers pay tipped workers a lower cash wage of $6.75 an hour and count up to $8.25 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 Massachusetts tipped minimum wage calculator for the full breakdown.
Is Massachusetts's minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage?
Yes. Massachusetts'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
- Massachusetts 2026 minimum wage rate: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 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. Rate has been $15.00 (service rate $6.75) since 2023-01-01; no further increases scheduled.