Washington’s minimum wage will rise 2.8 percent next year, to $17.13 an hour. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) announced the increase today; it takes effect Jan. 1, 2026.
State law requires L&I to calculate the minimum wage for the coming year using the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). L&I compares the CPI-W from August of the previous year to August of the current year to determine if a change is needed. L&I adjusts the minimum wage based on the percentage increase in the CPI-W.
Washington’s current state minimum wage of $16.66 is the highest in the nation. Local governments can set minimum wages higher than the state. Seattle, SeaTac, Tukwila, Renton, Bellingham, Everett, Burien, and unincorporated King County currently all have higher minimum wages. The federal minimum wage remains $7.25 an hour.
More information about the minimum wage is available on L&I’s website, along with details about overtime, rest breaks, meal periods, and how to file a wage complaint. Information about the minimum wage can be printed in 15 different languages.
Overtime exempt employees
L&I uses changes in the CPI-W to calculate the minimum salary certain types of employees must earn to be considered exempt workers who do not receive overtime. This affects executive, administrative, and professional workers, plus computer professionals.
For 2026, all employers must pay overtime exempt workers at least 2.25 times the minimum wage. That means an exempt employee will have to earn at least $1,541.70 a week ($80,168.40 a year).
L&I is using an eight-year implementation schedule to incrementally raise how much more than the minimum wage a salaried employee must earn to be exempt from overtime. The increases will continue until 2028, when the threshold reaches 2.5 times the minimum wage. The pace of the increase varies based on the size of the employer.
The same rules allow exempt computer professionals to be paid an hourly rate rather than a minimum salary. That hourly rate is 3.5 times the minimum wage, regardless of employer size. For 2026, that will be $59.96 per hour.
Young workers
Employers are allowed to pay 85 percent of the minimum wage to workers ages 14-15, so the minimum wage for those younger workers will be $14.56 an hour in 2026.
Minimum pay for rideshare drivers
The minimum pay rideshare drivers will earn is also going up Jan. 1.
- For trips within Seattle in 2026, drivers will earn 70 cents per passenger platform minute and $1.63 per passenger platform mile, or $6.12, whichever is greater.
- For trips outside of Seattle in 2026, drivers will earn 40 cents per passenger platform minute and $1.38 per passenger platform mile, or $3.55, whichever is greater.
Non-compete clauses
L&I also uses the CPI-W to calculate the minimum annual salary threshold for a non-compete clause or contract to be enforceable. For employees in 2026, the threshold will be $126,858.83. For independent contractors, the 2026 threshold will be $317,147.09.
Wage complaints investigated
L&I enforces the state’s wage-and-hour laws and investigates all wage-payment complaints. A worker rights complaint can be filed online, downloaded and mailed to the agency, or at a local L&I office.
For questions about worker rights and pay, employers and workers can call L&I’s Employment Standards Program at 360-902-5316 or toll free 1-866-219-7321.