Oregon Minimum Wage 2026: $15.55 Standard, $16.80 in Portland Metro

Oregon has three minimum wages, set by where the work happens. From July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 they are $16.80 an hour in the Portland metro area, $15.55 standard and $14.55 in 18 nonurban counties. The rates are indexed to inflation and change every July 1; BOLI announces the next figure by April 30. Tip credits are illegal in Oregon, so tipped employees are owed the full rate for their area.

Oregon at a glance

How Oregon sets its minimum wage

ORS 653.025 (ORS chapter 653) set scheduled rates through June 30, 2023. Since then, the standard rate has been adjusted every year for inflation: no later than April 30, the BOLI commissioner calculates the increase, if any, in the U.S. City Average Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers from March of the previous year to March of the current year, rounds the new rate to the nearest five cents, and it takes effect July 1. The Portland metro rate is fixed by statute at $1.25 above the standard rate, and the nonurban rate at $1 below it.

The next change is July 1, 2027. BOLI will publish the figures by April 30, 2027; until then, any number for 2027 is an estimate.

Which rate applies

The Portland metro rate applies to work inside the Metro urban growth boundary. The nonurban rate applies in 18 counties listed in ORS 653.026: Baker, Coos, Crook, Curry, Douglas, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa and Wheeler. Everywhere else pays the standard rate. BOLI says an employer with a fixed location pays the rate for that location whenever an employee works there at least 50% of the pay period, and delivery drivers who start and end the day at the employer's location are owed that location's rate (BOLI).

Tipped employees

"Tips are separate and cannot be counted as wages. Tip credits are illegal in Oregon," BOLI says. A server in Portland is owed $16.80 an hour in wages before tips. Employers may require tip pooling among eligible workers, but under federal rules managers and the house can't share in the pool.

Local rates and exceptions

• No city minimum wages. ORS 653.017 preempts local governments from setting minimum wages for private employers. The three tiers are the only rates.
• No youth or training rate for ordinary jobs; minors are owed the same regional rate as adults.
• Exempt employees. ORS 653.020 excludes some workers, such as certain piece-rate hand harvest laborers, casual domestic workers and salaried executive, administrative and professional employees. BOLI notes that salaried exempt employees currently must receive the federal minimum salary of $684 a week.
• Raises above the minimum. BOLI says a July 1 increase only requires raising employees who would otherwise be paid below the new minimum; it doesn't require keeping everyone the same distance above it.

What this means for hiring

An Oregon pay range has to be checked against the right tier every July 1. A $16.00 starting wage clears the standard rate by 45 cents and the nonurban rate by $1.45, but it's below the Portland metro minimum. If you hire across regions, set ranges by worksite, and put the rate for that location in the first line of each ad. To see what an Oregon hire costs at the wage you actually pay, use our employee cost calculator; for breaks, overtime, sick time and hiring rules, see Oregon labor laws. Our minimum wage by state page compares other states, including Washington for employers hiring on both sides of the Columbia.

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. Oregon doesn't require pay ranges in postings, but Washington does; see pay transparency laws by state.

Frequently asked questions

Part of Boostpoint’s minimum wage by state series.