Minnesota Tipped Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official Minnesota Department of Labor and IndustryMinnesota does not allow a tip credit. Tipped workers must be paid the full $11.41 minimum wage in cash, and they keep all their tips on top. This Minnesota tipped minimum wage calculator shows what that means in practice. Enter your tips and hours to see your total pay: the full $11.41 minimum in cash plus every dollar of tips on top. A tip credit lets an employer pay a lower direct cash wage and count part of your tips toward the regular minimum wage, but it can never leave you below the minimum: if tips fall short in a given week, the law requires the employer to make up the difference. The cash wage, tip credit and minimum wage used here are the 2026 figures for Minnesota, sourced from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Tips you earn above the minimum are always yours to keep.
Minnesota does not allow a tip credit: tipped workers get the full $11.41/hr minimum wage in cash, plus all tips.
How the Minnesota tipped wage and tip credit work
cash wage = $11.41/hr (full minimum, no tip credit)
effective pay = $11.41 + your tips per hour
These are gross figures before tax. Tips are taxable income and must be reported. For your after-tax pay, see the Minnesota paycheck calculator, and for the regular rate the Minnesota minimum wage calculator.
In Minnesota your tips never reduce your wage
Minnesota is one of the few states that flatly bans the tip credit, so there is no lower service rate to calculate here. A tipped server, bartender or valet must be paid the full $11.41 minimum wage in cash for 2026, and every dollar of tips sits on top of that wage rather than counting toward it.
That makes the make-whole check simple: your base rate should already be at least $11.41 for every hour worked, before a single tip is added. If your pay stub shows a lower base justified by tips, that is not lawful in Minnesota, and the difference is owed to you. Employers relocating from a tip-credit state are the usual source of this mistake, so read the base hourly line carefully.
One caveat: $11.41 is the statewide floor for greater Minnesota, not necessarily your floor. Minneapolis and St. Paul both set higher city minimums, and the municipal rate wins whenever it is higher, so a tipped worker inside either city should look up the local ordinance rate and confirm that the full city minimum, again with no tip credit, is paid in cash.
Minnesota tipped minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the tipped minimum wage in Minnesota in 2026?
Minnesota does not use a tipped minimum wage. Tipped workers must receive the full Minnesota minimum wage of $11.41 an hour in cash from their employer, and any tips are theirs to keep on top of that.
Does Minnesota allow a tip credit?
No. Minnesota is one of the states that does not allow a tip credit. Every worker, tipped or not, must be paid at least the full $11.41 minimum wage in cash before tips.
What happens if my tips do not reach minimum wage in Minnesota?
That situation does not arise in Minnesota, because you are paid the full $11.41 minimum wage in cash regardless of tips. Tips are always extra.
How much does a tipped worker make in Minnesota?
It depends on tips, but here is a worked example: a server working 30 hours a week and averaging $12.00 an hour in tips. Full minimum cash wage $11.41 plus $12.00 tips is $23.41 an hour, about $702.30 a week or $36,519.60 a year before tax. Use the calculator with your own tips and hours.
Is the tip credit the same as the tipped wage?
No, they are two sides of the same figure. The "tipped minimum wage" (or tipped cash wage) is what the employer pays directly: $11.41 in Minnesota (the full minimum, because there is no tip credit). The "tip credit" is how much of your tips the employer is allowed to count toward the regular minimum wage: $0.00 in Minnesota. Cash wage plus tip credit equals the $11.41 minimum wage.
Official sources
- Minnesota 2026 tipped and minimum wage figures: Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, as at July 11, 2026.
- Federal tip credit and the $2.13 cash-wage floor: 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. Minnesota does not permit a tip credit; tipped employees receive the full minimum wage of $11.41 plus tips.