New York Minimum Wage 2026: $17.00 Downstate, $16.00 Upstate
New York’s minimum wage is $17.00 an hour in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County, and $16.00 an hour in the rest of the state, both effective January 1, 2026 — a $0.50 increase in each region from 2025. Starting in 2027, New York moves off its set schedule of increases and begins adjusting annually based on the Consumer Price Index for the Northeast region, so future increases will track inflation rather than a pre-set dollar figure.
New York at a glance
| Current rate (NYC, LI, Westchester) | $17.00 / hour |
|---|---|
| Current rate (rest of state) | $16.00 / hour |
| Effective | January 1, 2026 |
| Next scheduled change | Annual CPI-indexed adjustment begins 2027 |
Tipped cash wages vary by region and industry
| Region | Service employees | Food service workers |
|---|---|---|
| NYC, Long Island & Westchester | $14.15 (+$2.85 credit) | $11.35 (+$5.65 credit) |
| Rest of state | $13.30 (+$2.70 credit) | $10.70 (+$5.30 credit) |
Only hospitality employers — restaurants and hotels — are allowed to take a tip credit at all; every other industry has to pay the full regional minimum in cash regardless of tips received.
What this means for hiring
The region a job is physically located in decides the rate, not where the company is headquartered — a role based in Nassau or Suffolk County pays the $17.00 downstate rate even though it's outside the five boroughs. Because the tip credit only applies to hospitality employers, a tipped role in retail or another non-hospitality industry has to be advertised and paid at the full regional minimum, with no lower cash-wage figure to fall back on.
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