Nebraska Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official Nebraska Department of LaborNebraska's minimum wage is $15.00 per hour in 2026, set by the state and above the federal minimum of $7.25. This Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska Department of Labor; the pay calculation is simply hours times the rate.
Nebraska'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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska income tax, Social Security and Medicare. Your take-home pay is lower; see our Nebraska paycheck calculator for the after-tax amount.
How a 2022 ballot measure took Nebraska to $15.00
Nebraska's $15.00 minimum wage in 2026 is the last scheduled step of Initiative 433, the measure voters approved at the ballot box in 2022. It lifted the wage in stages from $9.00 to $10.50, then $12.00, $13.50 and now $15.00, after which the rate is indexed to the Midwest CPI-U beginning in 2027. That schedule makes Nebraska a striking outlier in its region.
The contrast with its neighbors is hard to miss: Iowa, Kansas, Wyoming and South Dakota all sit at or near the federal $7.25, so a worker crossing the state line can see their wage floor roughly double. At $15.00 an hour, full-time work of 40 hours a week for 52 weeks comes to about $31,200 a year before tax, which the calculator on this page will break down by week and month.
The detail most people overlook is the tipped wage. While the standard minimum jumped to $15.00, Nebraska left the tipped cash wage at the federal $2.13 an hour, so the tip credit is now an unusually large $12.87. A tipped worker is still guaranteed $15.00 once tips are counted, but the cash portion of the paycheck can be a small fraction of that until the tips arrive.
Nebraska minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in Nebraska in 2026?
Nebraska'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, 2026.
How much is full-time minimum wage in Nebraska per year?
At Nebraska'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.
Does Nebraska's minimum wage change every year?
Yes. Nebraska adjusts its minimum wage each year for inflation (cost of living), so it typically rises a little every January. From 2027 adjusted annually by CPI-U (Midwest region). Always check the current figure with the Nebraska Department of Labor before relying on it.
What is the tipped minimum wage in Nebraska?
Nebraska lets employers pay tipped workers a lower cash wage of $2.13 an hour and count up to $12.87 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 Nebraska tipped minimum wage calculator for the full breakdown.
Is Nebraska's minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage?
Yes. Nebraska'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
- Nebraska 2026 minimum wage rate: Nebraska 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. $15.00 effective 2026-01-01, the final scheduled step of Initiative 433 (2022 ballot); CPI-indexed from 2027.