2019 Georgia Minimum Wage
The 2019 Georgia Minimum Wage is $5.15.
Effective 2019-01-01Source: Minimum Wage (Georgia Department of Labor)Verified 2026-08-29
Compared with 2018
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2018.
| Item | 2018 | 2019 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | $5.15 | $5.15 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers and employees subject to Georgia's minimum wage law
What changed this year, and why
Georgia's state minimum wage rate for 2019 is $5.15 per hour. The federal minimum wage is higher than Georgia's state rate, so the federal rate applies to most workers in Georgia.
Common questions
- Does the federal minimum wage apply in Georgia?
- Yes. Because the federal minimum wage is higher than Georgia's state rate, the federal rate applies to most employers and employees in Georgia.
- Are there exceptions to Georgia's minimum wage?
- Yes, Georgia's minimum wage law provides limited exceptions to the state rate.
Why the federal rate applies when the state rate is lower
Georgia sets its own minimum wage at $5.15 per hour, which is below the federal floor. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal minimum wage acts as the baseline for covered workers nationwide. When a state rate falls beneath that baseline, the higher federal rate takes precedence, so most employees in Georgia are entitled to be paid at the federal level rather than the state level. The state's lower rate is still on the books and may apply to workers who fall within narrow categories that are exempt from federal coverage - those are the limited exceptions the statute references. In practice, because the federal rate is greater than the state rate, the federal figure governs for the large majority of hourly positions. Employers must compare the two rates and pay the one that is more favorable to the worker whenever both laws could apply.
Georgia's minimum wage is $5.15 per hour, however, with some limited exceptions, the federal minimum wage rate applies.
Minimum Wage (Georgia Department of Labor)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Minimum Wage (Georgia Department of Labor)
- Hourly
Georgia's minimum wage is $5.15 per hour, however, with some limited exceptions, the federal minimum wage rate applies.
Other years
Every Georgia Minimum Wage year · Minimum Wage in every state