Florida Raises Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour
Starting Sept. 30, workers and employers across Florida will face a new wage landscape as the state minimum wage increases from $14 to $15 an hour.
Florida will reach an important milestone in its wage policy this month. Beginning Sept. 30, 2026, the state minimum wage will increase from $14 to $15 an hour, completing the series of annual increases established by a constitutional amendment approved by Florida voters in 2020.
The change represents a $1-per-hour increase for employees currently earning the state minimum wage. For someone working 40 hours a week, gross weekly earnings will rise from approximately $560 to $600, a difference of $40 before taxes and other deductions.
Over a full year, an employee working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks would see gross earnings increase from about $29,120 to $31,200, a difference of approximately $2,080 per year.
The change will also affect tipped employees. Currently, the minimum direct cash wage for eligible tipped workers is $10.98 an hour plus tips. When Florida’s minimum wage reaches $15, and with the permitted $3.02 tip credit remaining in place, the minimum direct wage for qualifying tipped employees will increase to $11.98 an hour plus tips.
The increase is part of a transition that began in 2021, when Florida’s minimum wage reached $10 an hour. It subsequently increased to $11 in 2022, $12 in 2023, $13 in 2024 and $14 in 2025.
The September increase is particularly significant because it completes the series of $1 annual increases established under the constitutional amendment.
That does not mean Florida’s minimum wage will remain permanently frozen at $15.Under the constitutional amendment, a new minimum wage adjustment will be calculated on Sept. 30, 2027, based on inflation.
The adjusted wage will take effect on Jan. 1, 2028, with inflation-based adjustments continuing annually thereafter.
Employers throughout Florida will need to ensure that covered employees receive at least the new state minimum wage for all qualifying hours worked.
For workers and businesses, the key date is Sept. 30, 2026. On that day, Florida will officially reach the $15-an-hour minimum wage, completing a five-year series of scheduled increases that has gradually raised the state’s wage floor.
