Montana Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official Montana Department of Labor & IndustryMontana's minimum wage is $10.85 per hour in 2026, set by the state and above the federal minimum of $7.25. This Montana minimum wage calculator turns that hourly rate into the numbers that actually matter to you: weekly, monthly and yearly pay. At $10.85 an hour, someone working a full 40-hour week earns about $434.00 before tax, or roughly $22,568.00 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 Montana set their own higher local minimums. Montana is one of the states that does not allow a tip credit, so tipped workers receive the full minimum wage in cash plus their tips. The figure here is the state rate for 2026, sourced directly from the Montana Department of Labor & Industry; the pay calculation is simply hours times the rate.
Montana's 2026 minimum wage is $10.85 per hour. Full time (40 hrs/week) that is about $434.00 a week and $22,568.00 a year before tax.
How Montana 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 Montana income tax, Social Security and Medicare. Your take-home pay is lower; see our Montana paycheck calculator for the after-tax amount.
Montana's tip-credit ban and the $4.00 exception
Montana's minimum wage rises to $10.85 an hour in 2026 and is recalculated every January using the Consumer Price Index, so the figure typically ticks up a little each year rather than waiting for legislation. What sets Montana apart from most of the country is its treatment of tips: it is one of only seven states (with California, Nevada, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and Alaska) that ban the tip credit outright. A server must receive the full $10.85 in cash, and any tips sit on top of that.
There is a lesser-known second rate that trips people up. A business not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less may legally pay as little as $4.00 an hour. The catch is that FLSA coverage can attach to the individual worker, not just the business, so an employee who handles goods moving in interstate commerce is still entitled to the federal $7.25. Because workers always get the higher applicable rate, the $4.00 figure applies to a genuinely small slice of employment.
For most Montanans, then, the practical answer is $10.85 an hour, with overtime at one and a half times that rate after 40 hours in a week, and no lawful way to shortchange a tipped worker below the full minimum.
Montana minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in Montana in 2026?
Montana's minimum wage is $10.85 per hour in 2026, set by the state and above the federal minimum of $7.25. At $10.85 an hour, a full-time worker (40 hours a week) earns about $434.00 a week and $22,568.00 a year before tax. This rate took effect on January 1, 2026.
How much is full-time minimum wage in Montana per year?
At Montana's $10.85 minimum wage, 40 hours a week for 52 weeks is 2,080 hours, which comes to about $22,568.00 a year ($1,880.67 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 Montana's minimum wage change every year?
Yes. Montana adjusts its minimum wage each year for inflation (cost of living), so it typically rises a little every January. CPI-adjusted annually; next adjustment 2027-01-01. Always check the current figure with the Montana Department of Labor & Industry before relying on it.
What is the tipped minimum wage in Montana?
Montana does not allow a tip credit, so tipped workers must be paid the full $10.85 minimum wage in cash, on top of any tips they keep.
Is Montana's minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage?
Yes. Montana's $10.85 is $3.60 an hour above the federal minimum of $7.25, which works out to about $7,488.00 more a year for a full-time worker.
Official sources
- Montana 2026 minimum wage rate: Montana Department of Labor & Industry, 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. No-tip-credit state. $10.85 effective 2026-01-01, CPI-adjusted annually. Local minimums: A business not covered by the FLSA with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less may pay $4.00 an hour.