Arizona Minimum Wage 2026: $15.15 an Hour, Flagstaff Runs Higher
Arizona’s minimum wage is $15.15 an hour, effective January 1, 2026, a $0.45 increase from $14.70 in 2025 based on the rise in the Consumer Price Index between August 2024 and August 2025. Arizona adjusts its minimum wage every January using this same inflation formula, and the city of Flagstaff sets its own higher local rate on top of the state floor.
Arizona at a glance
| Current rate | $15.15 / hour |
|---|---|
| Effective | January 1, 2026 |
| Tipped cash wage | $12.15 / hour ($3.00 tip credit) |
| Next scheduled change | Adjusts every January 1 for inflation (CPI) |
Flagstaff sets its own, higher minimum wage
Flagstaff is the one Arizona city with a local minimum wage above the state rate, and it runs meaningfully higher:
| Flagstaff citywide rate | $18.35 / hour |
|---|---|
| Flagstaff tipped cash wage | $18.35 / hour — tip credit eliminated |
| Rest of Arizona | $15.15 / hour ($12.15 tipped) |
Flagstaff phased out its tip credit entirely, so tipped employees working inside city limits are owed the full $18.35 in direct wages regardless of tips — a meaningfully different cost basis than the rest of the state.
What this means for hiring
A job physically based in Flagstaff has to be priced at the city’s $18.35 floor, not the $15.15 state rate — and because Flagstaff no longer allows any tip credit, a tipped role there costs meaningfully more in guaranteed direct wages than the same role just outside city limits. Everywhere else in Arizona, the standard $3.00 tip credit applies, bringing the tipped cash wage down to $12.15 as long as tips make up the difference to $15.15.
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