Minimum wage in Nebraska
$15.00 per hour1
per hourGeneral rate since January 1, 2026
2023 to 2026
History
Each step is a rate row with its own quoted source.
Show the history as a table
| Applies to | Rate | Effective | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
StandardSource: Official Report of the Nebraska Board of State Canvassers, General Election, November 8, 2022Initiative Measure 433 Shall the Nebraska statute establishing a minimum wage for employees be amended to increase the state minimum wage from nine dollars ($9.00) per hour to ten dollars and fifty cents ($10.50) per hour on January 1, 2023, to twelve dollars ($12.00) per hour on January 1, 2024, to thirteen dollars and fifty cents ($13.50) per hour on January 1, 2025, and to fifteen dollars ($15.00) per hour on January 1, 2026, to be adjusted annually thereafter to account for increases in the cost of living? County For Against Total 386,756 272,603
Verified September 26, 2026 | $13.50January 1, 2025 – January 1, 2026 | January 1, 2025 | January 1, 2026 |
StandardSource: Official Report of the Nebraska Board of State Canvassers, General Election, November 8, 2022Initiative Measure 433 Shall the Nebraska statute establishing a minimum wage for employees be amended to increase the state minimum wage from nine dollars ($9.00) per hour to ten dollars and fifty cents ($10.50) per hour on January 1, 2023, to twelve dollars ($12.00) per hour on January 1, 2024, to thirteen dollars and fifty cents ($13.50) per hour on January 1, 2025, and to fifteen dollars ($15.00) per hour on January 1, 2026, to be adjusted annually thereafter to account for increases in the cost of living? County For Against Total 386,756 272,603
Verified September 26, 2026 | $12.00January 1, 2024 – January 1, 2025 | January 1, 2024 | January 1, 2025 |
StandardSource: Official Report of the Nebraska Board of State Canvassers, General Election, November 8, 2022Initiative Measure 433 Shall the Nebraska statute establishing a minimum wage for employees be amended to increase the state minimum wage from nine dollars ($9.00) per hour to ten dollars and fifty cents ($10.50) per hour on January 1, 2023, to twelve dollars ($12.00) per hour on January 1, 2024, to thirteen dollars and fifty cents ($13.50) per hour on January 1, 2025, and to fifteen dollars ($15.00) per hour on January 1, 2026, to be adjusted annually thereafter to account for increases in the cost of living? County For Against Total 386,756 272,603
Verified September 26, 2026 | $10.50January 1, 2023 – January 1, 2024 | January 1, 2023 | January 1, 2024 |
BLS · May 2025
How the minimum compares with typical pay in Nebraska
64%of the median hourly wage
The median hourly wage across all occupations in Nebraska is $23.55 and the mean is $30.00 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state estimates). The minimum wage of $15.00 is 64% of the median and above the 10th-percentile wage of $14.48: more than a tenth of workers across Nebraska earn less than this rate. BLS
| Applies to | Rate |
|---|---|
| Minimum wage | $15.00 |
| 10th percentile | $14.48 |
| 25th percentile | $17.97 |
| Median | $23.55 |
| Mean | $30.00 |
5 rules · September 26, 2026
Labor law basics in Nebraska
What the law adds on top of the hourly rate. Follow the citation for exceptions.
Overtime
Covered non-exempt employees must be paid at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek; federal law sets no daily overtime and no weekend or holiday premium. (non-exempt employees covered by the FLSA)
Source: 29 U.S.C. § 207
Unless specifically exempted, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay. There is no limit in the Act on the number of hours employees aged 16 and older may work in any workweek. The Act does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest, as such.
- Source
- agency page
- snapshot
- September 26, 2026
Verified September 26, 2026
Overtime-exempt salary threshold
Executive, administrative and professional employees are exempt from minimum wage and overtime only if they meet the duties tests and are paid a salary of at least $684 per week ($35,568 a year). (executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees)
Source: 29 C.F.R. Part 541
To qualify for exemption, employees generally must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $684 per week.
- Source
- agency page
- snapshot
- September 26, 2026
- Notes
- The 2024 rule raising the level to $844/$1,128 was vacated in November 2024; DOL enforces the 2019 level of $684.
Verified September 26, 2026
Young workers' hours
14- and 15-year-olds may work at most 3 hours on a school day, 8 hours on a non-school day, 18 hours in a school week and 40 hours in a non-school week, outside school hours. (14- and 15-year-olds in non-agricultural jobs)
Source: 29 C.F.R. Part 570
no more than 3 hours on a school day , including Fridays; no more than 8 hours on a nonschool day; no more than 18 hours during a week when school is in session; no more than 40 hours during a week when school is not in session;
- Source
- agency page
- snapshot
- September 26, 2026
Verified September 26, 2026
Required poster
Employers whose employees are covered by the FLSA minimum wage provisions must post, and keep posted, a notice explaining the Act in a conspicuous place in all of their establishments. (employers covered by the FLSA)
Source: 29 U.S.C. § 207
Every employer of employees subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage provisions must post, and keep posted, a notice explaining the Act in a conspicuous place in all of their establishments.
- Source
- agency page
- snapshot
- September 26, 2026
- Notes
- The notice DOL publishes for this purpose is the FLSA minimum wage poster (WH-1088), free from the WHD posters page.
Verified September 26, 2026
Tips
An employer may count tips toward the minimum wage only after telling the tipped employee the cash wage, the tip credit claimed, that the credit cannot exceed tips received, that tips belong to the employee except in a valid tip pool, and that the credit requires this notice; employers, managers and supervisors may never keep employees' tips. (tipped employees under the FLSA)
Source
Employers must provide the following information to tipped employees before taking a tip credit under the FLSA: the amount of the direct (or cash) wage the employer is paying a tipped employee, which must be at least $2.13 per hour; the additional amount claimed by the employer as a tip credit, which cannot exceed $5.12 (the difference between the minimum required direct (or cash) wage of $2.13 and the current minimum wage of $7.25); that the tip credit claimed by the employer cannot exceed the amount of tips actually received by the tipped employee; that all tips received by the tipped employee are to be retained by the employee except for a valid tip pooling arrangement limited to employees who customarily and regularly receive tips; and that the tip credit will not apply to any tipped employee unless the employee has been informed of these tip credit provisions.
- Source
- agency page
- snapshot
- September 26, 2026
Verified September 26, 2026
$15.00 / hour
Calculators
Estimates before tax at this rate. Nothing you type leaves this page.
What this wage pays
| Weekly | $600.00 |
|---|---|
| Monthly52 weeks ÷ 12 | $2,600.00 |
| Annual52 weeks | $31,200.00 |
| Overtime rate1.5× where overtime applies | $22.50 |
2 jurisdictions
Local minimum wages in Nebraska
A local rate applies to work performed inside its boundaries.
5 questions
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in Nebraska?
$15.00 per hour since January 1, 2026. For a 40-hour week that is about $600.00 a week or $31,200.00 a year before tax.
Is the minimum wage in Nebraska increasing?
No increase is scheduled on record as of October 1, 2026. Inflation-indexed jurisdictions announce the next figure a few months before it takes effect.
Is there a lower tipped minimum wage in Nebraska?
No separate tipped rate is on record for Nebraska; tipped employees are owed the full $15.00 per hour before tips, unless a higher-level rule sets one.
How does Nebraska compare with other states?
Nebraska's $15.00 ranks 12 of 51 state general rates, against a federal floor of $7.25.
Do any cities or counties in Nebraska have a higher minimum wage?
Yes: 2 local jurisdiction(s) on record (Lincoln, Omaha). The local rate applies to work performed inside its boundaries.
2 levels of law
How this rate is resolved
The highest minimum that covers the work location applies.
Employers must pay the highest minimum that covers the work location. WageTable checks each level in turn:
- United States
- Nebraska
Nebraska sets 1 rule of its own. Year pages: 2026, 2027.
Notes on this jurisdiction's rules and sources
Wage and Hour Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-1203, as amended by Initiative 433 (approved Nov 8, 2022): stepped schedule 2023-2026. The Act covers employers of four or more employees (§ 48-1202). LB 258 (signed Feb 10, 2026, per secondary reporting) replaced the CPI-U indexing from 2027 with a fixed annual percentage and added a youth wage; the Jan 1, 2027 rate, the youth rate and the tipped cash wage (stated only in words in the initiative text) are not yet in the dataset.
Nebraska
Enforcement
Enforced by Nebraska Department of Labor, Labor Standards. Employers must display the official minimum wage poster.
Underpaid?File a wage claim