Oklahoma Tipped Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official Oklahoma Department of LaborOklahoma lets employers pay tipped workers a cash wage of $2.13 an hour and take a tip credit of up to $5.12, as long as tips bring total pay to at least the $7.25 minimum wage. This Oklahoma tipped minimum wage calculator shows what that means in practice. Enter your average tips per hour and your weekly hours, and it works out whether your tips clear the tip credit, whether your employer owes you a top-up to reach the $7.25 minimum, and your effective hourly, weekly and yearly pay. 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 Oklahoma, sourced from the Oklahoma Department of Labor. Tips you earn above the minimum are always yours to keep.
Oklahoma tipped workers get a cash wage of $2.13/hr, with up to a $5.12 tip credit toward the $7.25 minimum wage.
How the Oklahoma tipped wage and tip credit work
cash wage = $2.13/hr (paid by employer)
total before top-up = cash wage + your tips per hour
if total < $7.25: employer tops up to $7.25
effective pay = greater of (cash + tips) and $7.25
These are gross figures before tax. Tips are taxable income and must be reported. For your after-tax pay, see the Oklahoma paycheck calculator, and for the regular rate the Oklahoma minimum wage calculator.
Making $2.13 in cash plus tips reach $7.25
Oklahoma follows the federal tip-credit rules exactly, so an employer here can pay a tipped worker a cash wage as low as $2.13 an hour and claim up to a $5.12 tip credit. Add the two together, $2.13 plus $5.12, and you get the state's $7.25 minimum wage. Oklahoma has not set its own tipped rate; it simply adopts the federal floor, which is why these numbers match the FLSA figures used across much of the South.
The number that actually protects you is $7.25, not $2.13. Your tips are expected to fill the $5.12 gap, and if they do not, your employer owes you the shortfall. To check, add up every tip you received during the workweek, divide by the hours you worked, and add your $2.13 cash wage. If the result is under $7.25 an hour for that week, you have been underpaid and can claim the top-up. Averaging is done over the full week, so a dead Tuesday can be offset by a busy Friday.
Two habits keep you safe in Oklahoma. First, keep your own record of hours and tips rather than relying only on the point-of-sale report, because required tip pooling and tip-out reduce what you keep. Second, watch the ballot: an initiative to raise Oklahoma's minimum toward $15.00 has been in play, and if it passes, both the $7.25 floor and the $2.13 cash wage would move up with it.
Oklahoma tipped minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the tipped minimum wage in Oklahoma in 2026?
In Oklahoma, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $2.13 an hour in 2026. Employers may count up to $5.12 an hour of tips (the "tip credit") toward the $7.25 minimum wage. If an employee's cash wage plus tips does not average at least $7.25 an hour, the employer must pay the difference.
Does Oklahoma allow a tip credit?
Yes. Oklahoma allows employers to take a tip credit of up to $5.12 an hour, meaning the direct cash wage can be as low as $2.13 an hour provided tips make up the rest to $7.25. The federal tip-credit floor is a $2.13 cash wage.
What happens if my tips do not reach minimum wage in Oklahoma?
Your employer must make up the shortfall. In any week where your cash wage of $2.13 plus your tips does not average at least $7.25 an hour, Oklahoma and federal law require the employer to top your pay up to $7.25. You should never earn less than the full minimum wage once tips are counted.
How much does a tipped worker make in Oklahoma?
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. Cash wage $2.13 plus $12.00 tips is $14.13 an hour, which is above the $7.25 minimum, so the effective rate is $14.13 an hour, about $423.90 a week or $22,042.80 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: $2.13 in Oklahoma. The "tip credit" is how much of your tips the employer is allowed to count toward the regular minimum wage: $5.12 in Oklahoma. Cash wage plus tip credit equals the $7.25 minimum wage.
Official sources
- Oklahoma 2026 tipped and minimum wage figures: Oklahoma Department of Labor, as at July 16, 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. Oklahoma follows the federal FLSA tip credit: $2.13 cash plus tips; the employer makes up any shortfall to $7.25.