Kentucky Minimum Wage 2026: $7.25/hr Calculator
Calculate weekly, monthly, and annual gross pay at Kentucky's 2026 minimum wage. Includes tipped worker earnings.
How Kentucky Minimum Wage Compares to the Federal Rate
Kentucky's 2026 minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is equal to the $7.25 federal minimum. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has not changed since 2009, meaning workers in states like Kentucky rely on state law for meaningful wage floors.
At $7.25/hr working full-time (40 hours/week, 52 weeks/year), a Kentucky worker earns $15,080.00 gross annually. That equals $290.00 per week and roughly $1,256.67 per month.
These figures are gross (before taxes). Your take-home pay will be lower after federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), and Medicare (1.45%) deductions. Use our Kentucky Income Tax Calculator for a net-pay estimate.
Last updated: August 2026. Rates sourced from the Kentucky Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.
Tipped Workers in Kentucky
The tipped minimum wage in Kentucky is $2.13 per hour in 2026. Employers may pay tipped employees as little as $2.13/hr, but total compensation including tips must reach $7.25/hr. If tips fall short, the employer must make up the difference.
Tipped workers covered by Kentucky law include restaurant servers, bartenders, valets, and other service workers who regularly receive tips. Always check your pay stub to ensure your employer is meeting the full minimum wage requirement.
Kentucky's statutory minimum wage is tied to the federal floor, so it changes only when the federal rate changes.
Kentucky Wage Increase Schedule
The 2026 minimum wage for Kentucky is $7.25/hr. Kentucky sets its minimum wage in state law at the same level as the federal rate. Because the federal minimum has stayed at $7.25 since July 2009, Kentucky's rate has not moved either, and there is no inflation indexing to raise it automatically.
Employers must post the current Kentucky minimum wage notice at their place of business. Violations can result in back-pay orders and civil penalties. Workers who believe they are being underpaid can file a complaint with the Kentucky Department of Labor or the U.S. Department of Labor.
Kentucky's Minimum Wage Is Locked to the Federal Rate
Kentucky has a minimum wage statute, but it is written to track the federal floor rather than set an independent rate. The result is $7.25 an hour, unchanged since 24 July 2009. Kentucky also preempts local ordinances — Louisville and Lexington both attempted higher local rates and were overturned by the state Supreme Court in 2016 — so no county or city rate can exceed $7.25. Tipped workers are covered by the federal $2.13 cash wage, with tips required to make up the difference to $7.25. Without state indexing, the rate will hold until Congress acts.
Bookmark this page — we update Kentucky wage data each time the state announces a new rate, including CPI-indexed adjustments.