Minimum wage in Las Cruces, NM
$12.00 per hour1
per hourGeneral rate since January 1, 2023 · set by New Mexico
No scheduled increase on record.
1 rate in force
Rates by worker type, industry and employer size
Las Cruces has no rules of its own on record; these are the rules of New Mexico that apply here.
| Applies to | Rate | Cash wage | Max tip credit | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tipped employees · employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tipsSource: NMSA 1978, § 50-4-22(5) on and after January 1, 2023, at least twelve dollars ($12.00) an hour. B. An employer furnishing food, utilities, supplies or housing to an employee who is engaged in agriculture may deduct the reasonable value of such furnished items from any wages due to the employee. C. An employee who customarily and regularly receives more than thirty dollars ($30.00) a month in tips shall be paid a minimum hourly wage as follows: (1) prior to January 1, 2020, at least two dollars thirteen cents ($2.13) an hour; (2) beginning January 1, 2020 and prior to January 1, 2021, at least two dollars thirty-five cents ($2.35) an hour; (3) beginning January 1, 2021 and prior to January 1, 2022, at least two dollars fifty-five cents ($2.55) an hour; (4) beginning January 1, 2022 and prior to January 1, 2023, at least two dollars eighty cents ($2.80) an hour; (5) on and after January 1, 2023, at least three dollars ($3.00) an hour
Verified September 27, 2026 | $12.00January 1, 2023 | $3.00 | — | January 1, 2023 |
2009 to 2026
History of the New Mexico rate
Each step is a rate row with its own quoted source.
Show the history as a table
| Applies to | Rate | Effective | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
StandardSource: NMSA 1978, § 50-4-22(4) beginning January 1, 2022 and prior to January 1, 2023, at least eleven dollars fifty cents ($11.50) an hour
Verified September 27, 2026 | $11.50January 1, 2022 – January 1, 2023 | January 1, 2022 | January 1, 2023 |
StandardSource: NMSA 1978, § 50-4-22(3) beginning January 1, 2021 and prior to January 1, 2022, at least ten dollars fifty cents ($10.50) an hour
Verified September 27, 2026 | $10.50January 1, 2021 – January 1, 2022 | January 1, 2021 | January 1, 2022 |
StandardSource: NMSA 1978, § 50-4-22(2) beginning January 1, 2020 and prior to January 1, 2021, at least nine dollars ($9.00) an hour
Verified September 27, 2026 | $9.00January 1, 2020 – January 1, 2021 | January 1, 2020 | January 1, 2021 |
StandardSource: NMSA 1978, § 50-4-22The 2007 amendment, effective January 1, 2008, in Subsection A, increased the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.50 an hour, effective January 1, 2008 and from $6.50 to $7.50, effective January 1, 2009.
Verified September 27, 2026 | $7.50January 1, 2009 – January 1, 2020 | January 1, 2009 | January 1, 2020 |
Earlier rules by employer size, worker type and condition (3)
| Applies to | Rate | Cash wage | Max tip credit | Effective | Until |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tipped employees · employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tipsSource: NMSA 1978, § 50-4-22(4) beginning January 1, 2022 and prior to January 1, 2023, at least eleven dollars fifty cents ($11.50) an hour; and (5) on and after January 1, 2023, at least twelve dollars ($12.00) an hour. B. An employer furnishing food, utilities, supplies or housing to an employee who is engaged in agriculture may deduct the reasonable value of such furnished items from any wages due to the employee. C. An employee who customarily and regularly receives more than thirty dollars ($30.00) a month in tips shall be paid a minimum hourly wage as follows: (1) prior to January 1, 2020, at least two dollars thirteen cents ($2.13) an hour; (2) beginning January 1, 2020 and prior to January 1, 2021, at least two dollars thirty-five cents ($2.35) an hour; (3) beginning January 1, 2021 and prior to January 1, 2022, at least two dollars fifty-five cents ($2.55) an hour; (4) beginning January 1, 2022 and prior to January 1, 2023, at least two dollars eighty cents ($2.80) an hour
Verified September 27, 2026 | $11.50January 1, 2022 – January 1, 2023 | $2.80 | — | January 1, 2022 | January 1, 2023 |
Tipped employees · employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tipsSource: NMSA 1978, § 50-4-22(3) beginning January 1, 2021 and prior to January 1, 2022, at least ten dollars fifty cents ($10.50) an hour; (4) beginning January 1, 2022 and prior to January 1, 2023, at least eleven dollars fifty cents ($11.50) an hour; and (5) on and after January 1, 2023, at least twelve dollars ($12.00) an hour. B. An employer furnishing food, utilities, supplies or housing to an employee who is engaged in agriculture may deduct the reasonable value of such furnished items from any wages due to the employee. C. An employee who customarily and regularly receives more than thirty dollars ($30.00) a month in tips shall be paid a minimum hourly wage as follows: (1) prior to January 1, 2020, at least two dollars thirteen cents ($2.13) an hour; (2) beginning January 1, 2020 and prior to January 1, 2021, at least two dollars thirty-five cents ($2.35) an hour; (3) beginning January 1, 2021 and prior to January 1, 2022, at least two dollars fifty-five cents ($2.55) an hour
Verified September 27, 2026 | $10.50January 1, 2021 – January 1, 2022 | $2.55 | — | January 1, 2021 | January 1, 2022 |
Tipped employees · employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tipsSource: NMSA 1978, § 50-4-22(2) beginning January 1, 2020 and prior to January 1, 2021, at least nine dollars ($9.00) an hour; (3) beginning January 1, 2021 and prior to January 1, 2022, at least ten dollars fifty cents ($10.50) an hour; (4) beginning January 1, 2022 and prior to January 1, 2023, at least eleven dollars fifty cents ($11.50) an hour; and (5) on and after January 1, 2023, at least twelve dollars ($12.00) an hour. B. An employer furnishing food, utilities, supplies or housing to an employee who is engaged in agriculture may deduct the reasonable value of such furnished items from any wages due to the employee. C. An employee who customarily and regularly receives more than thirty dollars ($30.00) a month in tips shall be paid a minimum hourly wage as follows: (1) prior to January 1, 2020, at least two dollars thirteen cents ($2.13) an hour; (2) beginning January 1, 2020 and prior to January 1, 2021, at least two dollars thirty-five cents ($2.35) an hour
Verified September 27, 2026 | $9.00January 1, 2020 – January 1, 2021 | $2.35 | — | January 1, 2020 | January 1, 2021 |
BLS · May 2025
How the minimum compares with typical pay in New Mexico
53%of the median hourly wage
The median hourly wage across all occupations in New Mexico is $22.70 and the mean is $29.96 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state estimates). The minimum wage of $12.00 is 53% of the median; the 10th-percentile wage is $13.83, so roughly the lowest-paid tenth of workers earn within $1.83 of the minimum. BLS
| Applies to | Rate |
|---|---|
| Minimum wage | $12.00 |
| 10th percentile | $13.83 |
| 25th percentile | $16.95 |
| Median | $22.70 |
| Mean | $29.96 |
5 rules · September 26, 2026
Labor law basics in Las Cruces, NM
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
$12.00 / hour
Calculators
Estimates before tax at this rate. Nothing you type leaves this page.
What this wage pays
| Weekly | $480.00 |
|---|---|
| Monthly52 weeks ÷ 12 | $2,080.00 |
| Annual52 weeks | $24,960.00 |
| Overtime rate1.5× where overtime applies | $18.00 |
3 questions
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in Las Cruces, NM?
$12.00 per hour since January 1, 2023, set by New Mexico. For a 40-hour week that is about $480.00 a week or $24,960.00 a year before tax.
Is the minimum wage in Las Cruces, NM 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.
What is the tipped minimum wage in Las Cruces, NM?
Employers may pay tipped employees a cash wage of $3.00 per hour as long as tips bring them to $12.00.
3 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
- New Mexico
- Las Cruces
Las Cruces sets no rule of its own on record.
Notes on this jurisdiction's rules and sources
UC Berkeley Labor Center inventory (us-berkeley-local-inventory, as of 2026-09-26): listed (2025 minimum wage notice and municipal code ch. 14 art. III). The tipped minimum wage in Las Cruces remains higher than the state minimum. Code § 14-62: $8.40 (2015), $9.20 (2017), $10.10 (2019), then CPI-W West each January 1 (rounded up to $0.05); tipped 40%.
New Mexico
Enforcement
Enforced by New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, Labor Relations Division. Employers must display the official minimum wage poster.
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