West Virginia Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official West Virginia Division of LaborWest Virginia's minimum wage is $8.75 per hour in 2026, set by the state and above the federal minimum of $7.25. This West Virginia minimum wage calculator turns that hourly rate into the numbers that actually matter to you: weekly, monthly and yearly pay. At $8.75 an hour, someone working a full 40-hour week earns about $350.00 before tax, or roughly $18,200.00 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 West Virginia 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 West Virginia Division of Labor; the pay calculation is simply hours times the rate.
West Virginia's 2026 minimum wage is $8.75 per hour. Full time (40 hrs/week) that is about $350.00 a week and $18,200.00 a year before tax.
How West Virginia 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 West Virginia income tax, Social Security and Medicare. Your take-home pay is lower; see our West Virginia paycheck calculator for the after-tax amount.
West Virginia's $8.75 only covers larger employers
West Virginia's minimum wage is $8.75 per hour, $1.50 above the federal floor, and it has held at that level since January 1, 2016. The detail that trips people up is coverage. The state minimum applies only to employers with six or more non-exempt employees at one location; smaller employers, and workers otherwise outside state coverage, fall back to the federal $7.25. So two people doing the same job in West Virginia can lawfully be on different minimums depending on the size of the business.
For a full-time worker (2,080 hours) at $8.75, that is about $18,200 a year before tax, against $15,080 at the federal $7.25. West Virginia also allows one of the more generous tip credits in the country, at 70%: the tipped cash wage is $2.62 per hour, and cash plus reported tips must reach $8.75. If they do not in a given week, the employer makes up the difference.
The rate is not indexed, so it moves only when the Legislature acts, and there has been no increase in a decade. That makes $8.75 stable but steadily eroded by inflation. Anyone comparing West Virginia with its neighbors should note that Ohio, Maryland and Virginia all index or legislate higher minimums, widening the gap each year. Confirm the current figure with the West Virginia Division of Labor before relying on it for payroll.
West Virginia minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in West Virginia in 2026?
West Virginia's minimum wage is $8.75 per hour in 2026, set by the state and above the federal minimum of $7.25. At $8.75 an hour, a full-time worker (40 hours a week) earns about $350.00 a week and $18,200.00 a year before tax. This rate took effect on January 1, 2016.
How much is full-time minimum wage in West Virginia per year?
At West Virginia's $8.75 minimum wage, 40 hours a week for 52 weeks is 2,080 hours, which comes to about $18,200.00 a year ($1,516.67 a month) in gross pay before tax and deductions. Part-time hours scale down from there; use the calculator to enter your own hours.
Is West Virginia's minimum wage going up?
West Virginia 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 West Virginia Division of Labor.
What is the tipped minimum wage in West Virginia?
West Virginia lets employers pay tipped workers a lower cash wage of $2.62 an hour and count up to $6.13 of tips toward the minimum (a "tip credit"). If cash wage plus tips does not reach $8.75 an hour, the employer must make up the difference. See our West Virginia tipped minimum wage calculator for the full breakdown.
Is West Virginia's minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage?
Yes. West Virginia's $8.75 is $1.50 an hour above the federal minimum of $7.25, which works out to about $3,120.00 more a year for a full-time worker.
Official sources
- West Virginia 2026 minimum wage rate: West Virginia Division 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. $8.75 in effect since January 1, 2016; no 2026 increase. Local minimums: there are no separate city or county minimums in West Virginia; the state $8.75 rate applies only to employers with six or more non-exempt employees at one location, and those not covered fall under the federal $7.25.