Alaska Minimum Wage 2026: $14.00 Now, $15.00 on July 1, 2027
Alaska's minimum wage is $14.00 an hour since July 1, 2026, and it rises to $15.00 on July 1, 2027. Both steps are written into AS 23.10.065 by Ballot Measure 1, which voters passed in 2024. From January 1, 2028, the department adjusts the rate each year for inflation. Alaska allows no tip credit, so tipped employees are owed the full $14.00, and the rate is the same statewide.
Alaska at a glance
| Current rate | $14.00 / hour |
|---|---|
| Effective | July 1, 2026 (AS 23.10.065(a)(2)) |
| Tipped cash wage | $14.00 / hour (no tip credit allowed) |
| Next scheduled change | $15.00 on July 1, 2027 (set in statute) |
| After that | Annual inflation adjustment from January 1, 2028 (Anchorage CPI) |
| Local rates | None; one statewide rate |
| Youth or training rate | None; part-time minors (30 hours a week or less) are exempt from the state rate (AS 23.10.055(a)(11)) |
| Exempt salary floor | $1,120 / week from July 1, 2026; $1,200 from July 1, 2027 |
How Alaska sets its minimum wage
The rate is fixed in statute. AS 23.10.065(a), as published in the department's Pamphlet 100, sets $13.00 from July 1, 2025, $14.00 from July 1, 2026 and $15.00 from July 1, 2027. "Thereafter," the statute says, the rate is adjusted annually for inflation. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development calculates the adjustment each September 30 using 100% of the prior calendar year's change in the Consumer Price Index for the Anchorage metropolitan area, rounds it up to the nearest ten cents, and the new rate applies from January 1. The department's February 2026 notice to employers confirms that Alaska "will return to annual adjustment using the Consumer Price Index for the previous calendar year on January 1, 2028."
The statute also keeps a gap over the federal rate: if the Alaska rate ever fell to less than $2 above the federal minimum wage, it would be reset to $2 above it. With the federal rate at $7.25, that isn't close to applying.
Tipped employees: no tip credit in Alaska
AS 23.10.065(a) is explicit: "An employer may not apply tips or gratuities bestowed upon employees as a credit toward payment of the minimum hourly wage." The federal $2.13 tipped cash wage doesn't apply in Alaska. A server or bartender must be paid at least $14.00 an hour in wages, and tips are on top. Employers may handle employees' tips only for limited purposes, such as a tip pool among service employees, under the department's rules.
The salary threshold moves with it
Alaska ties its exempt salary floor to the minimum wage: two times the minimum wage for a 40-hour week. According to the department, that is $1,120 a week from July 1, 2026 and $1,200 a week from July 1, 2027. A salaried supervisor paid below the floor is owed overtime under Alaska's daily and weekly rules, whatever their duties.
Exceptions and coverage
- Exempt occupations. AS 23.10.055 exempts some workers from minimum wage and overtime, including agricultural and domestic workers and bona fide executive, administrative and professional employees paid the salary floor. Check the list in Pamphlet 100 before relying on one.
- Minors. Alaska has no separate youth or training rate, but AS 23.10.055(a)(11) exempts a minor under 18 employed part-time, not more than 30 hours a week, from the state minimum wage. The department's child labor regulations in Pamphlet 200 set the federal minimum wage as the floor for minors working less than 30 hours a week. A minor working longer hours is owed $14.00.
- School bus drivers. Public school bus drivers must be paid at least twice the minimum wage, subject to contract timing rules in the statute.
- Room and board. Board and lodging credits and deductions follow the department's board and lodging regulations, listed on the Wage and Hour page.
The rate is statewide. The Wage and Hour section publishes one Alaska minimum wage, with no separate city or county rate.
What this means for hiring
Two scheduled increases in two years, with no tip credit, move the floor under a lot of hourly pay ranges. A range written as "$14 to $16" in 2025 now starts at the legal minimum, and on July 1, 2027 its bottom falls below it. Review posted ranges before each July 1, and remember that daily overtime after eight hours changes the weekly cost of long shifts. To see what an Alaska hire costs at the wage you actually pay, use our employee cost calculator; for breaks, final pay, paid sick leave and hiring paperwork, see Alaska labor laws. Our minimum wage by state page compares the other states, including Washington and California if you also hire on the West Coast.
For setting the number itself, our guide to how much to pay hourly employees walks through market data, and job ad copywriting shows how to put the rate in the first line. Alaska doesn't require pay ranges in postings, but if you also hire in other states, check pay transparency laws by state.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wage in Alaska in 2026?
$14.00 an hour, effective July 1, 2026, under AS 23.10.065(a)(2). It replaced the $13.00 rate that took effect July 1, 2025. The rate applies statewide, and because Alaska allows no tip credit, it applies to tipped employees too. The Alaska Wage and Hour section publishes the current rate and the required poster.
Is Alaska raising its minimum wage?
Yes. The statute already sets the next step: $15.00 an hour on July 1, 2027. After that, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development adjusts the rate every year for inflation using the Anchorage Consumer Price Index, with the first adjustment effective January 1, 2028 and each later one calculated by September 30 of the prior year.
What is the tipped minimum wage in Alaska?
The same as the regular minimum wage: $14.00 an hour. AS 23.10.065 says an employer may not apply tips or gratuities as a credit toward the minimum wage, and the federal tip credit doesn't apply. Tips are the employee's, on top of the $14.00, subject to the department's rules on tip pooling.
What will Alaska's minimum wage be in 2027?
$15.00 an hour from July 1, 2027. From January 1 to June 30, 2027 the rate stays at $14.00. The statute fixes both figures, so employers don't need to wait for an announcement. The first inflation-based adjustment after that takes effect January 1, 2028; the department calculates it by September 30, 2027.
Does Alaska have a youth or training minimum wage?
Not a separate rate, but part-time minors are treated differently. AS 23.10.055(a)(11) exempts a minor under 18 employed part-time, not more than 30 hours a week, from Alaska's minimum wage, and the department's regulations set the federal minimum wage as the floor for minors working less than 30 hours a week. A minor who works more than that is owed the full $14.00. Alaska has no training or opportunity rate.
Hiring hourly workers in Alaska?
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