Massachusetts Minimum Wage 2026: $15.00/hr Calculator

How Massachusetts Minimum Wage Compares to the Federal Rate

Massachusetts's 2026 minimum wage of $15.00 per hour is $7.75 above the $7.25 federal minimum. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has not changed since 2009, meaning workers in states like Massachusetts rely on state law for meaningful wage floors.

At $15.00/hr working full-time (40 hours/week, 52 weeks/year), a Massachusetts worker earns $31,200.00 gross annually. That equals $600.00 per week and roughly $2,600.00 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 Massachusetts income tax calculator for a net-pay estimate.

Last updated: May 2026. Rates sourced from the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards and the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.

Tipped Workers in Massachusetts

The tipped minimum wage in Massachusetts is $6.75 per hour in 2026. Employers may pay tipped employees as little as $6.75/hr, but total compensation including tips must reach $15.00/hr. If tips fall short, the employer must make up the difference.

Tipped workers covered by Massachusetts 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.

Massachusetts Wage Increase Schedule

The 2026 minimum wage for Massachusetts is $15.00/hr. Massachusetts reached $15.00 an hour on 1 January 2023, the final step of the 2018 “Grand Bargain” law, and the rate has stayed at $15.00 since. Massachusetts does not index its minimum wage to inflation, so it does not rise automatically each January the way Washington or Colorado do — any further increase needs new legislation or a ballot question. Treat $15.00 as the floor until the Legislature acts.

Employers must post the current Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards or the U.S. Department of Labor.

Bookmark this page — we update Massachusetts wage data each time the Legislature or a ballot question changes the rate.

Who Is Exempt From the Massachusetts Minimum Wage

The $15.00 floor is not universal, and the exemptions are where most underpayment disputes actually start. Agricultural and farm work carries its own statutory minimum of $8.00 per hour under M.G.L. c.151 §2A — roughly half the general rate, and unchanged for years. Members of religious orders, participants in certain educational or vocational training programmes, and outside salespeople paid on commission also sit outside the general minimum. Seasonal camp counsellors at recreational summer camps are exempt as well, which is why a camp job can legally pay a flat weekly stipend rather than an hourly rate. Two points worth knowing: an exemption from the minimum wage is not automatically an exemption from overtime, and the two lists in Massachusetts law do not match, so check both before concluding you are owed nothing. Being paid a salary also does not by itself make you exempt — the duties you actually perform decide it. Verify your own category against the state's own summary at Mass.gov: Massachusetts law about minimum wage before filing a claim.

Overtime and Premium Pay Rules in Massachusetts

Massachusetts requires overtime at 1.5× your regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a week — at the $15.00 minimum that is $22.50 an hour for hour 41 onward. Two Massachusetts-specific rules catch people out. First, the old Sunday and holiday premium pay for retail workers was phased out completely on 1 January 2023, so there is no longer a 1.1× or 1.2× Sunday bump. Second, the reporting-pay rule: if you are scheduled for three or more hours, report to work, and are sent home early, you must be paid for at least three hours at the minimum wage. Overtime is calculated on your actual regular rate, not the minimum — so if you earn $20 an hour, overtime is $30, not $22.50.

How to File a Massachusetts Wage Complaint

If your pay stub does not add up, the enforcement route matters. Wage and overtime violations in Massachusetts go to the Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division, which handles Wage Act claims — not to a federal office. You generally must file a complaint with the Fair Labor Division before bringing a private Wage Act lawsuit. Keep every pay stub and a personal record of hours worked; in a dispute the burden shifts heavily toward the employer when their own timekeeping records are incomplete. The Massachusetts Wage Act allows recovery of treble (triple) damages plus attorney fees for proven violations, which is stronger than the federal remedy under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Federal minimum wage and overtime rules are published by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. Updated 2026-08-03.

Does This Massachusetts Minimum Wage Calculator Include Overtime?

Yes. Enter more than 40 hours a week and the calculator splits the week the way the law does: the first 40 hours at your rate, every hour after that at 1.5×. At the $15.00 Massachusetts minimum, a 50-hour week is $600 regular plus $225 overtime — $825, not the $750 you get by multiplying 50 × $15. The Regular Hours Pay and Overtime Pay rows show the split so you can check a payslip line by line. Overtime is owed weekly, not averaged over a fortnight, and it is calculated on your actual regular rate rather than the minimum. Federal rule: 29 U.S.C. § 207; Massachusetts adds its own overtime requirement under M.G.L. c. 151 § 1A.