Oklahoma Minimum Wage 2026: $7.25, With No Increase After SQ 832 Failed

Oklahoma’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour in 2026. State law adopts the federal minimum wage by reference, so the rate has not changed since July 24, 2009. Tipped employees can be paid a cash wage of $2.13 as long as tips bring them to $7.25. Voters rejected State Question 832, a $15 minimum wage initiative, on June 16, 2026, so no increase is scheduled. Cities and counties cannot set a higher rate.

Oklahoma at a glance

How Oklahoma sets its minimum wage

Oklahoma does not set a dollar figure of its own for most employers. 40 O.S. § 197.2 says no employer "shall pay any employee a wage of less than the current federal minimum wage for all hours worked." The federal rate has been $7.25 since July 24, 2009, so that is the Oklahoma rate. It will change only if Congress raises the federal minimum or the Legislature or voters change the state law.

That second route was tried this year. State Question 832 would have raised the minimum to $15 in $1.50 steps and then indexed it to inflation. It went to voters at the June 16, 2026 primary election and was rejected. No other increase has been enacted, so plan around $7.25 for 2027 as well.

Who the state minimum wage covers

The state Act has its own coverage test. Under 40 O.S. § 197.4(d), an "employer" is one hiring more than ten full-time employees or equivalent at any one location, or doing more than $100,000 in gross business a year. The Act does not apply to employers already paying the minimum wage under the federal FLSA, which covers most businesses anyway. It also excludes several groups of workers, including part-time employees working fewer than 25 hours a week who are not on permanent status, people under 18 without a high school diploma, and students under 22.

Section 197.5 still contains a $2.00-an-hour floor for employees 18 and older, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s state table lists $2.00 for employers below the state thresholds. In practice that floor matters only to a very small employer that is outside the FLSA as well. If that might be you, confirm with ODOL before relying on it.

Oklahoma tipped minimum wage

Oklahoma changed its tip credit rule in 2025. 40 O.S. § 197.16, as amended by SB 250 effective November 1, 2025, allows credit for tips as long as the employer pays a cash wage of at least what 29 CFR 531.50(a)(1) requires, which is the federal $2.13. The U.S. DOL's tipped wage table shows the same: $2.13 cash wage and a $5.12 tip credit. If tips plus the cash wage fall short of $7.25 for the workweek, you make up the difference.

Exceptions and special rates

• Learners, apprentices and workers with impaired earning capacity can be paid less only under special certificates issued by the Commissioner of Labor (40 O.S. § 197.11).
• Farm workers, domestic workers in private homes, and outside salespeople and exempt executive, administrative and professional employees are outside the state Act (40 O.S. § 197.4(e)).
• Federal rules, including the $4.25 youth opportunity wage for workers under 20 in their first 90 days, still apply where the FLSA covers the employer.

What this means for hiring

$7.25 is a legal floor, not a hiring rate. Many Oklahoma employers filling warehouse, healthcare, restaurant and trade jobs already pay above it, and applicants compare your ad against those rates, not against the statute. Put your real starting rate in the first line of the ad. To see what a hire costs at that rate once taxes and benefits are added, use the employee cost calculator. For breaks, overtime, final pay and hiring rules, see Oklahoma labor laws, and compare other states on our minimum wage by state hub.

Frequently asked questions

Part of Boostpoint’s minimum wage by state series.