Georgia minimum wage 2026: $7.25, the $5.15 state rate and tips

The Georgia minimum wage is $7.25 an hour in 2026. Georgia’s own statute sets $5.15, which is lower than the federal minimum, but that rate only reaches the small group of employers the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not cover. For everyone else, including restaurants, retailers, warehouses and offices from Atlanta to Savannah, the federal $7.25 applies, and it has not changed since July 24, 2009. This guide explains how the two rates fit together, the tipped wage, why the Atlanta minimum wage for private employers is the same as the rest of the state, overtime, paydays and youth rules, with worked pay examples.

Georgia minimum wage 2026: $7.25 an hour

The Georgia Department of Labor states it plainly: the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and Georgia’s rate is $5.15 per hour, but with some limited exceptions the federal rate applies. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division says the same thing in its own way: when state and federal rates differ, an employee covered by both is owed the higher one.

Who the $5.15 state rate covers

Georgia’s Minimum Wage Law (O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3) requires covered employers to pay not less than $5.15 per hour for each hour worked. The law then lists who it does not apply to, and the list is long. Under the current text it does not cover:

• Employers with annual sales of $40,000 or less, and employers with five or fewer employees, so it reaches employers with six or more.
• Employers of domestic workers, and farm owners, sharecroppers and land renters.
• Employees whose pay comes entirely or partly from tips.
• High school and college students, and newspaper carriers.
• Certain live-in workers at nonprofit child-care and long-term care facilities.
• Employers already subject to a federal minimum wage law that sets a higher rate.

That last item is the one that matters. Any employer covered by the FLSA is subject to the federal $7.25, so the lower Georgia number has almost no practical effect. The U.S. Department of Labor’s history table marks Georgia’s $5.15 as applying to employers of six or more. The FLSA generally covers businesses with at least $500,000 in annual sales, plus smaller employers whose employees work in interstate commerce, which describes most of them. The rare case where only the state rate could apply is a business with six or more employees, no interstate activity and sales under the federal threshold. If you are unsure which law covers you, pay $7.25 and keep clean records.

Weekly and yearly pay at the Georgia minimum wage

These are gross pay figures at $7.25 before taxes, for a non-exempt employee paid by the hour.

A full-time job at $7.25 pays $15,080 a year, or $628.33 per paycheck on a twice-a-month schedule (24 pay periods). To convert any hourly rate into a salary, use our salary to hourly calculator.

Example with overtime. Magnolia Kitchen, a small restaurant in Savannah, pays line cook Devon Price $13.50 an hour (illustrative). In one workweek Devon works 46 hours, so 6 hours are overtime at 1.5 times the regular rate, or $20.25 an hour.

1. Regular pay: 40 hours × $13.50 = $540.00.
2. Overtime pay: 6 hours × $20.25 = $121.50.
3. Total for the week: $540.00 + $121.50 = $661.50.

You can check your own numbers with our overtime calculator.

Georgia tipped minimum wage: $2.13 and the tip credit

Georgia’s state law exempts employees paid in whole or in part by tips, so the federal tip credit rules apply. The Department of Labor’s table for Georgia matches the federal figures: an employer may pay a cash wage of $2.13 an hour and count up to $5.12 an hour of tips toward the $7.25 minimum. A tipped employee is one who customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips.

• Notice first. The employer must tell tipped employees about the tip credit before taking it.
• Make up any shortfall. If cash wages plus tips fall below $7.25 an hour for the workweek, the employer pays the difference.
• Tips belong to employees. Employers, managers and supervisors may not keep any part of employees’ tips.

Example. Tamara Ellis, a server at Magnolia Kitchen, works 25 hours in a week and is paid $2.13 an hour, or $53.25 in cash wages. The minimum for those hours is 25 × $7.25 = $181.25, so tips must total at least $128.00. If she reports only $100.00 in tips, cash wages plus tips come to $153.25 and the employer owes another $28.00.

Atlanta minimum wage and local rates

Georgia does not let cities and counties raise the floor for private employers. Section 34-4-3.1 of the Georgia Code says that all wage or employment benefit mandates adopted by any local government entity are preempted. It also bars local governments from using their purchasing power to control the wages their contractors pay, and from regulating the hours or scheduling an employer must give workers. So the Atlanta minimum wage for a private restaurant, store or warehouse is the same $7.25 as in every other part of the state.

Local governments can still set pay and benefits for their own workforces. Atlanta has set higher pay floors for city employees, but those figures do not apply to private businesses inside the city limits. If you work for a city or county, ask its human resources office for the current scale. Compare that with California, where dozens of cities set higher rates (see our California minimum wage guide).

Overtime rules in Georgia

Georgia has no state overtime law and no daily overtime. The FLSA applies: non-exempt employees earn 1.5 times their regular rate for every hour over 40 in a workweek. Hours over 8 in a day are not overtime unless the week goes past 40. The regular rate includes non-discretionary bonuses and shift premiums, so overtime can be higher than 1.5 × base pay. Our guide to how to calculate overtime covers bonuses and two-rate weeks, and the exempt vs non-exempt guide explains who is exempt (federal salary threshold: $684 a week, plus a duties test).

Accurate hours are the foundation. A time clock app with GPS and geofencing records when shifts start and end, and shift scheduling shows who is close to 40 hours before you add another shift.

Pay frequency, breaks and sick leave in Georgia

• Payday. The U.S. Department of Labor lists Georgia’s pay frequency as semi-monthly, based on O.C.G.A. § 34-7-2. In practice, plan on paying at least twice a month, and check the statute’s details for your type of employer. Weekly and biweekly schedules both meet a twice-a-month standard.
• Final paycheck. Georgia has no state deadline for final pay after a firing or resignation. The usual practice is to pay on the next regular payday. Pay final wages promptly and follow any written policy you gave employees. Our PTO payout guide covers unused leave.
• Meal and rest breaks. Georgia has no state law requiring meal or rest breaks for adult workers. Federal rules only say that short breaks of about 20 minutes or less are paid time. See our lunch break laws by state.
• Paid sick leave. Georgia has no paid sick leave law. A 2017 state law lets employees use sick leave they already earn to care for an immediate family member, but it does not require an employer to offer sick leave.

Minors and work permits

The federal youth opportunity wage lets employers pay workers under 20 at least $4.25 an hour for their first 90 consecutive calendar days with that employer, and the Department of Labor prohibits using it to displace other workers. On day 91, or the 20th birthday, pay must rise to $7.25. Full-time students may be paid 85% of the minimum wage only with a Department of Labor certificate.

Georgia also regulates when and how long minors can work, and employees under 16 generally need an employment certificate (work permit). The Georgia Department of Labor’s child labor pages list the current hour limits and banned jobs, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s YouthRules site covers the federal side, so check both before scheduling a minor.

Georgia compared with neighboring states

These rates match our minimum wage by state guide, built from the U.S. Department of Labor’s tables, with later changes noted.

Florida is the outlier, and employers near the border compete with a rate more than twice Georgia’s. See our Florida minimum wage guide and, for another state that follows the federal rate, the Texas minimum wage guide. Rates can change, so check each state’s labor department before hiring across the border.

Georgia minimum wage history and what’s next

Georgia’s state rate is $5.15 in the Department of Labor’s history table, which also records $3.25 for most of the 1980s and 1990s. In practice the federal rate has driven Georgia pay. The recent federal steps were:

Is an increase coming? No increase is scheduled in Georgia for 2027. The rate would change only if Congress raises the federal minimum wage, or if the General Assembly changes the state law, and neither has happened as of November 12, 2026. Follow bill status on Congress.gov.

Frequently asked questions