Texas Minimum Wage 2026: Still $7.25, Tied to the Federal Rate
Texas’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, unchanged since July 24, 2009. The Texas Minimum Wage Act adopts the federal rate by reference, so Texas moves only when the federal minimum does — and it hasn’t since 2009. Texas also preempts local governments from setting a higher minimum wage for private employers, so $7.25 applies statewide with no city or county exceptions.
Texas at a glance
| Current rate | $7.25 / hour |
|---|---|
| Effective | July 24, 2009 (federal rate) |
| Tipped cash wage | $2.13 / hour ($5.12 tip credit) |
| Next scheduled change | None — tied to the federal rate |
Is Texas raising its minimum wage?
No. There is no Texas minimum wage raise scheduled for 2026 or 2027, and the minimum wage is not going up in Texas unless Congress or the Texas Legislature acts. The reason is written into the statute. Section 62.051 of the Texas Minimum Wage Act says that “an employer shall pay to each employee the federal minimum wage under Section 6, Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.” Texas has no number of its own to raise. It copies the federal rate, which the Department of Labor lists as $7.25 an hour, effective July 24, 2009.
That leaves three ways a Texas minimum wage raise could happen:
- Congress raises the federal minimum. Texas would follow automatically. Bills exist, such as the Raise the Wage Act of 2025 (H.R. 2743), introduced April 8, 2025, but its latest recorded action is referral to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
- The Texas Legislature passes its own rate. Bills to raise the minimum wage in Texas were filed in the 2025 regular session, including HB 812, HB 3447 and HB 5297, each titled “Relating to the minimum wage.” According to Texas Legislature Online, the last action on each was referral to the House subcommittee on Workforce. None became law. The next regular session opens in January 2027.
- A city or county acts. This route is closed for private employers. Section 62.0515 says the state minimum wage “supersedes a wage established in an ordinance, order, or charter provision governing wages in private employment, other than wages under a public contract.”
The public-contract exception matters if you do business with a city or county. Under Section 62.0515(c), a private company that signs a contract with a local government agreeing to pay that government’s minimum wage is bound by it, and so are the company’s subcontractors on that work. Outside those contracts, $7.25 is the floor in every Texas city, including Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth.
What this means for hiring
$7.25 is a legal floor, not a competitive wage in most Texas labor markets — most employers hiring for frontline roles in Texas are already paying well above it because the local labor market demands it, not because the law does. The number worth tracking isn’t Texas law, which won’t move on its own; it’s whether Congress changes the federal rate, since Texas would follow automatically. To see what a Texas hire costs at the wage you actually pay, including taxes and benefits, use our employee cost calculator.
For breaks, overtime, final paychecks and hiring rules in Texas, see our Texas labor laws guide for employers.
Frequently asked questions
Is Texas raising its minimum wage?
No. Texas’s minimum wage stays at $7.25 an hour in 2026, and no increase is scheduled. The Texas Minimum Wage Act requires employers to pay the federal minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act, so the state rate only moves if Congress raises the federal minimum or the Texas Legislature changes the law. Local governments cannot set a higher rate for private employers.
When is the next Texas minimum wage increase?
There isn’t one on the calendar. A Texas minimum wage increase would take either a federal increase, which Texas would follow automatically, or a new state law. The Legislature meets in regular session in odd-numbered years, starting on the second Tuesday in January, so the next regular session where a state increase could pass begins in January 2027. Until then, plan around $7.25, or $2.13 cash wage for tipped employees.
What is the minimum wage in Fort Worth, Texas?
The minimum wage in Fort Worth is $7.25 an hour, the same as the rest of Texas. Texas Labor Code Section 62.0515 stops cities from setting a higher minimum wage for private employers, so Fort Worth follows the state rate, which copies the federal minimum. Tipped employees can be paid $2.13 cash wage if tips make up the difference. A higher rate applies only where a business has agreed to one in a city contract.
Hiring hourly workers in Texas?
We can tell you honestly whether your job ads are priced to the current wage floor — before you spend anything.
Book a Demo
Part of Boostpoint’s minimum wage by state series.