Minimum wage in Texas
$7.25 per hour1
per hourGeneral rate since July 24, 2009
No scheduled increase on record.
BLS · May 2025
How the minimum compares with typical pay in Texas
31%of the median hourly wage
The median hourly wage across all occupations in Texas is $23.38 and the mean is $31.61 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state estimates). The minimum wage of $7.25 is 31% of the median; the 10th-percentile wage is $13.10, so roughly the lowest-paid tenth of workers earn within $5.85 of the minimum. BLS
| Applies to | Rate |
|---|---|
| Minimum wage | $7.25 |
| 10th percentile | $13.10 |
| 25th percentile | $17.01 |
| Median | $23.38 |
| Mean | $31.61 |
8 rules · September 27, 2026
Labor law basics in Texas
What the law adds on top of the hourly rate. Follow the citation for exceptions.
Pay frequency
Employees exempt from FLSA overtime must be paid at least once a month and all other employees at least twice a month, in pay periods of roughly equal length.
Source: Tex. Lab. Code ch. 61 (Texas Payday Law)
Sec. 61.011. PAYDAYS. (a) An employer shall pay wages to each employee who is exempt from the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.) at least once a month. (b) An employer shall pay wages to an employee other than an employee covered by Subsection (a) at least twice a month. (c) If wages are paid twice a month, each pay period must consist as nearly as possible of an equal number of days.
- Source
- statute
- snapshot
- September 27, 2026
Verified September 27, 2026
Final paycheck
A fired employee must be paid in full within six days of discharge, and an employee who quits must be paid by the next regularly scheduled payday.
Source: Tex. Lab. Code ch. 61 (Texas Payday Law)
Sec. 61.014. PAYMENT AFTER TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT. (a) An employer shall pay in full an employee who is discharged from employment not later than the sixth day after the date the employee is discharged. (b) An employer shall pay in full an employee who leaves employment other than by discharge not later than the next regularly scheduled payday.
- Source
- statute
- snapshot
- September 27, 2026
Verified September 27, 2026
Recovering unpaid wages
An employee who is not paid can file a verified wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission no later than 180 days after the wages were due.
Source: Tex. Lab. Code ch. 61 (Texas Payday Law)
Sec. 61.051. FILING WAGE CLAIM. (a) An employee who is not paid wages as prescribed by this chapter may file a wage claim with the commission in accordance with this subchapter. (b) A wage claim must be filed in a manner and on a form prescribed by the commission and must be verified by the employee. (c) A wage claim must be filed not later than the 180th day after the date the wages claimed became due for payment. The 180-day deadline is a matter of jurisdiction.
- Source
- statute
- snapshot
- September 27, 2026
Verified September 27, 2026
Required poster
Employers must post notices showing their designated paydays in conspicuous places in the workplace.
Source: Tex. Lab. Code ch. 61 (Texas Payday Law)
Sec. 61.012. DESIGNATION OF PAYDAYS; NOTICE. (a) An employer shall designate paydays in accordance with Section 61.011. (b) If an employer fails to designate paydays, the employer's paydays are the first and 15th day of each month. (c) An employer shall post, in conspicuous places in the workplace, notices indicating the paydays.
- Source
- statute
- snapshot
- September 27, 2026
- Notes
- If an employer designates no paydays, the paydays are the 1st and 15th of each month (§ 61.012(b)).
Verified September 27, 2026
Young workers' hours
14- and 15-year-olds may not work more than 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week, and those enrolled in school may not work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. before a school day or between midnight and 5 a.m. otherwise.
Source: Tex. Lab. Code ch. 51 (Child Labor)
Sec. 51.013. HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT; HARDSHIP EXEMPTION. (a) A person commits an offense if the person permits a child who is 14 or 15 years of age and who is employed by the person to work more than: (1) eight hours in one day; or (2) 48 hours in one week. (b) A person commits an offense if the person permits a child who is 14 or 15 years of age, is employed by the person, and is enrolled in a term of a public or private school to work: (1) between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. on a day that is followed by a school day; or (2) between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. on a day that is not followed by a school day.
- Source
- statute
- snapshot
- September 27, 2026
Verified September 27, 2026
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
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
$7.25 / hour
Calculators
Estimates before tax at this rate. Nothing you type leaves this page.
What this wage pays
| Weekly | $290.00 |
|---|---|
| Monthly52 weeks ÷ 12 | $1,256.67 |
| Annual52 weeks | $15,080.00 |
| Overtime rate1.5× where overtime applies | $10.88 |
4 questions
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in Texas?
$7.25 per hour since July 24, 2009. For a 40-hour week that is about $290.00 a week or $15,080.00 a year before tax.
Is the minimum wage in Texas 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 Texas?
No separate tipped rate is on record for Texas; tipped employees are owed the full $7.25 per hour before tips, unless a higher-level rule sets one.
How does Texas compare with other states?
Texas's $7.25 ranks 32 of 51 state general rates, against a federal floor of $7.25.
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
- Texas
Texas sets 1 rule of its own. Year pages: 2026, 2027.
Notes on this jurisdiction's rules and sources
The Texas Minimum Wage Act (Tex. Lab. Code § 62.051) adopts the federal minimum wage under the FLSA, $7.25 since July 24, 2009, and preempts higher local minimum wages for private employment (§ 62.0515). Tipped employees (more than $20 a month in tips) are paid as under FLSA § 3(m) (§ 62.052).
Texas
Enforcement
Enforced by Texas Workforce Commission. Employers must display the official minimum wage poster.
Underpaid?File a wage claim