District of Columbia minimum wage 2026
The District of Columbia minimum wage is $18.40 per hour, effective 2026-07-01. The tipped cash wage is $10.30 with a tip credit of $8.10. [DC labor dept.][DOL WHD]
Tip-credit split
Take-home at the District of Columbia minimum
Statute and indexing
The District's minimum wage and living wage rose from $17.95 to $18.40 an hour on 1 July 2026, for all workers regardless of the size of the employer. The base minimum wage for tipped employees rose from $10.00 to $10.30 on the same date. Where an employee's weekly averaged hourly tips plus that base do not reach the full District minimum, the employer must pay the difference. The rate rises each successive year in proportion to the consumer price index, under the Fair Shot Minimum Wage Amendment Act of 2016. The Office of Wage and Hour states the Washington metropolitan area index rose 2.4 percent in 2025, which is the basis of the 1 July 2026 step. No 2027 rate is recorded. The Act sets the mechanism but the District has published no figure for 1 July 2027, and a consumer-price projection is not a published rate. Source read directly: DOES Office of Wage and Hour public notice, District of Columbia Minimum Wage Increase, checked 7 September 2026. It agrees with the DOL table.