North Dakota Minimum Wage 2026: $7.25, With a $4.86 Tipped Wage

North Dakota's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal rate, in effect since July 24, 2009 under N.D.C.C. 34-06-22. Tipped employees can be paid a cash wage of $4.86 an hour, because the state caps the tip credit at 33% of the minimum wage, higher than the federal $2.13. No increase is scheduled: the statute has no inflation index, and nothing changes on January 1, 2027. Cities and counties are barred from setting a higher rate, and the state has no training wage.

North Dakota at a glance

How North Dakota sets its minimum wage

North Dakota writes its minimum wage into statute as fixed dollar amounts. N.D.C.C. 34-06-22 lists three steps: $5.85 from July 24, 2007, then $6.55 in 2008 and $7.25 in 2009, matching the federal increases of those years. There is no inflation index and no scheduled increase. The same section lets the Labor Commissioner adopt rules setting a different state rate, but the rate in force is $7.25, and the DOLHR poster lists it as effective July 24, 2009 (DOLHR poster).

Because the rate is a fixed number in the Century Code, a change needs the Legislative Assembly or a ballot measure. Neither has produced one: no minimum wage measure is among those certified for the November 3, 2026 ballot, and state law sets no increase for January 1, 2027. The federal rate is also $7.25 (U.S. DOL), so for employers covered by both laws the two floors are the same.

Tipped employees in North Dakota

North Dakota allows a tip credit, but a smaller one than federal law. The Work Conditions Order says "a tip credit of thirty-three percent of the minimum wage may be allowed for tipped employees" (N.D. Admin. Code 46-02-07). DOLHR puts the result plainly: "the current minimum direct wage payable to a tipped employee is $4.86 per hour" (DOLHR FAQ). The U.S. Department of Labor's state table gives the same $4.86 cash wage and a maximum tip credit of $2.39 (DOL tipped table).

• Who counts as tipped: a service employee who receives more than $30 a month in tips and provides direct service to the customer.
• The shortfall rule: if cash wage plus tips falls short of $7.25 for the hours worked, the employer pays the difference, and the DOLHR poster requires written records showing tipped employees reached the full minimum.
• Tip pools: the poster states a tip pool needs approval from 50% plus one of the tipped employees, by documented vote.

A North Dakota server's cash wage, $4.86, is higher than the federal $2.13, so a multi-state restaurant group cannot apply its federal tipped rate here.

Local minimum wages

There are none. N.D.C.C. 34-06-23 says a political subdivision, which includes any city, county, township or school district, "may not enact, maintain, or enforce by charter, ordinance, purchase agreement, contract, regulation, rule, or resolution a living wage mandate in an amount greater than the applicable minimum wage rate of this state." Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks and Minot all use the state rate.

Exceptions: youth, training and exempt workers

• No training or youth wage. The DOLHR summary states that "North Dakota does not have a Training Wage," and state law sets no separate youth rate, so 14- and 15-year-olds earn the standard minimum wage, with limits on hours and hazardous work. The one narrow exception is a subminimum certificate the commissioner may issue for vocational-education students (N.D. Admin. Code 46-02-07) (DOLHR poster). Do not pay a sub-minimum "opportunity wage" to new teen hires without checking with DOLHR first.
• Overtime-exempt employees still follow the white-collar duties and salary tests, with the federal salary level at $684 a week.

What this means for hiring in North Dakota

$7.25 is the legal floor, not the market rate for most frontline jobs in the state, and an ad built around the floor will struggle to get applicants. Price the role from your local competition, put the hourly rate in the first line of the ad, and cost the full hire, including payroll taxes and the PTO payout North Dakota requires at separation, with the employee cost calculator. The meal-break, overtime, final-pay and hiring rules are on our North Dakota labor laws page.

Frequently asked questions

Part of Boostpoint’s minimum wage by state series.