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- Delaware’s 2026 minimum wage is $15.00
- Youth and new hires generally receive the full rate
- Tipped workers have a $2.23 cash-wage floor
- Coverage has important exclusions
- Overtime usually comes from federal law
- Records and enforcement matter
- State, federal, and local wage rules can overlap
- Common questions
- What is Delaware’s minimum wage in 2026?
- Can Delaware employers pay minors less?
- What is Delaware’s tipped cash wage?
- Where can a worker report unpaid wages?
- Sources
Key Facts
- Delaware state level: The general minimum wage is $15.00 per hour in 2026; that rate took effect January 1, 2025.
- Delaware state level: Covered workers under 18 are generally entitled to the same $15.00 rate; the former youth and training discounts are no longer in the current minimum-wage statute.
- Delaware state level: A qualifying tipped employee may receive a $2.23 cash wage only if tips supply the balance of the full minimum.
- Federal level: Overtime is generally governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires time-and-a-half after 40 hours for covered, nonexempt workers.
- Delaware state level: Employers must preserve specified payroll and hours records for at least three years.
Delaware’s minimum wage is $15.00 per hour in 2026 for employees covered by the state law. The figure is statewide, but the correct rate for a particular worker can still depend on coverage, tips, another wage mandate, and federal law.
Delaware’s 2026 minimum wage is $15.00
Title 19, section 902 set the general rate at $15.00 beginning January 1, 2025. The statute does not schedule another dollar increase for 2026, so $15.00 remains the general state minimum.
If Congress establishes a federal minimum above Delaware’s rate, section 902 says the Delaware minimum becomes equal to the higher federal amount, subject to other provisions of the chapter. For a broader explanation of wage floors and overlapping rules, see our wage law overview.
Youth and new hires generally receive the full rate
Delaware once had youth and training rates fifty cents below the regular minimum. Those historical discounts should not be used for work performed in 2026 because they no longer appear in the current statute.
A worker’s age alone therefore does not create a general lower Delaware minimum. Child-labor rules may separately restrict when and where minors work.
Section 906 permits the Department of Labor to establish lower rates for learners and apprentices by regulation after a public hearing. That is a specific regulatory route, not a blanket first-90-days discount for every new employee.
Tipped workers have a $2.23 cash-wage floor
Delaware permits qualifying tips to count toward the minimum wage, but the direct cash wage may not be less than $2.23 per hour. The tipped occupation definition generally requires the worker to customarily and regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips.
The employer must be able to prove that cash wages and tips together reached the full $15.00 minimum. If they do not, the employer must cover the shortfall.
Tips are generally the primary direct-service employee’s property. Delaware permits employee tip sharing and allows a limited required pool among direct-service employees, but the employer may not keep a portion.
Coverage has important exclusions
The Delaware minimum-wage chapter excludes several categories from its definition of employee. Examples include agricultural labor, domestic service in a private home, certain bona fide executive, administrative, professional, and outside-sales roles, United States employees, and some nonprofit volunteers and fishing work.
An exclusion is fact-specific. A title such as “manager” does not by itself establish that the statutory duties test is met, and a state exclusion does not automatically remove federal protection.
Overtime usually comes from federal law
Delaware’s minimum-wage chapter does not create a general statewide overtime formula for ordinary private employment. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act generally requires covered, nonexempt employees to receive one and one-half times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek.
Federal exemptions and coverage rules are separate legal tests. An employee can be covered by one wage law and excluded from another, so employers must evaluate every applicable layer.
Records and enforcement matter
Delaware employers must retain the employee’s name, address, occupation, rate and pay, daily and weekly hours, and other required records for at least three years. They must also display the state-approved summary in an accessible workplace location.
The Delaware Department of Labor may inspect records and investigate wage compliance. A worker can file a wage complaint with the Division of Industrial Affairs, while the statute also authorizes a civil action for unpaid minimum wages, costs, necessary expenses, and reasonable attorney’s fees.
State law prohibits retaliation for making a complaint, providing information, starting a proceeding, or testifying. Keeping pay stubs, schedules, time records, tip reports, and written pay policies can make a wage review more reliable.
State, federal, and local wage rules can overlap
The $15.00 rule is Delaware state law, not a federal rate and not a city ordinance. Federal law can independently cover the same job, and a government contract or prevailing-wage requirement can impose a different floor.
Before calculating a claim, identify the work location, dates worked, employer, duties, tip practices, and any public contract. Apply the highest valid requirement that governs that work rather than assuming one label resolves every issue.
Common questions
What is Delaware’s minimum wage in 2026?
It is $15.00 per hour for workers covered by the state minimum-wage chapter.
Can Delaware employers pay minors less?
Not under a general youth discount in the current statute. Covered minors generally receive the full rate, although child-labor restrictions still apply.
What is Delaware’s tipped cash wage?
The floor is $2.23 per hour, and tips plus cash wages must reach the full applicable minimum.
Where can a worker report unpaid wages?
The Delaware Division of Industrial Affairs accepts wage complaints and provides Wage and Hour Enforcement resources.
