2018 New Jersey Minimum Wage
The 2018 New Jersey Minimum Wage is $8.60.
Effective 2018-01-01Source: N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.1 Notice of Administrative Changes, Minimum Wage (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)Verified 2026-08-30
Who it applies to
Employees in New Jersey subject to the State minimum wage
What changed this year, and why
The minimum hourly wage rate in New Jersey increased to $8.60, effective January 1, 2018.
Common questions
- When did the $8.60 minimum wage take effect?
- The $8.60 minimum hourly wage took effect on January 1, 2018.
Who to ask about this rate, and where to take a wage complaint
Questions about the New Jersey minimum wage and complaints about unpaid wages are handled by the state's labor agency. The notice comes from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Wage and Hour Compliance, which administers N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.1 and the state's wage laws. A worker in New Jersey who believes the $8.60 per hour rate was not paid, or that an exemption was applied incorrectly, should consult the relevant state labor office — in this case, the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance — to file a wage complaint or request guidance. The division is the point of contact for enforcement of the rate and the CPI-based adjustments described in the rule.
Take notice that the Department of Labor and Workforce Development has requested, and the Office of Administrative Law has agreed to permit, an administrative change to N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.1(a).
N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.1 Notice of Administrative Changes, Minimum Wage (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
State minimum wage laws that give more than the federal rate
New Jersey's minimum wage is set by taking the greatest of several rates: the state statutory rate under N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4, and the federal rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act. When state law provides a higher floor than federal law, New Jersey workers are entitled to the state amount. At the time of this notice, $8.60 per hour was greater than the federal minimum, so the state figure applied across New Jersey. The rule is designed so that workers always receive the most protective rate available to them, and the state figure is used whenever it exceeds the federal floor. Some state laws provide greater employee protections than federal law, and New Jersey's rule follows that pattern by directing employers to pay the greatest of the applicable rates.
Using as a base for the calculation the current New Jersey minimum hourly wage rate of $8.60 (since as of this date, $8.60 is greater than both the minimum hourly wage rate set by section 6(a)(1) of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the rate provided under N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4), a 2.88 percent increase (rounded to the nearest penny) is $0.25, yielding an adjusted State minimum hourly wage rate, effective January 1, 2019, of $8.85.
N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.1 Notice of Administrative Changes, Minimum Wage (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
Why the federal rate applies when the state rate is lower
When both federal and state minimum wage laws apply, workers in New Jersey are entitled to the higher of the two rates. In 2018, New Jersey's minimum wage of $8.60 per hour is greater than the federal minimum wage rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Because the state rate provides greater protection, the New Jersey rate of $8.60 applies to workers in the state. If the federal minimum wage were ever higher than New Jersey's rate, then the federal rate would apply instead. The regulation ensures that New Jersey workers always receive whichever rate—state or federal—is most beneficial to them. With some limited exceptions, the higher rate applies to ensure workers receive adequate compensation.
every employee shall, effective January 1, 2018, be paid not less than $8.60 per hour, the minimum hourly wage rate set by section 6(a)(1) of the Federal ‘Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938’ (29 U.S.C. §206(a)(1)), or the rate provided under N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4, whichever is greatest
N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.1 Notice of Administrative Changes, Minimum Wage (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
How the rate is adjusted each year, and who announces it
New Jersey adjusts its minimum wage each year to account for changes in the cost of living. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development revises the minimum hourly wage rate annually on or about September 30, using the percentage increase in the consumer price index for all urban wage earners and clerical workers over a one-year period. The department then announces the new CPI-adjusted rate through a public notice published in the New Jersey Register and posted on the department's website no later than September 30. The adjusted rate takes effect the following January 1. For the period from August 2017 through August 2018, the index rose by 2.88 percent, which was applied to the current $8.60 rate to determine the next year's minimum wage in New Jersey.
The percent increase in the CPI-W, U.S. City Average, for the one-year period, August 2017 through August 2018, is 2.88 percent.
N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.1 Notice of Administrative Changes, Minimum Wage (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
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.
N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.1 Notice of Administrative Changes, Minimum Wage (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
- Hourly
In pertinent part, that subsection states that “except as provided in N.J.A.C. 12:56- 3.2, every employee shall, effective January 1, 2018, be paid not less than $8.60 per hour, the minimum hourly wage rate set by section 6(a)(1) of the Federal ‘Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938’ (29 U.S.C. §206(a)(1)), or the rate provided under N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4, whichever is greatest.” Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.1(b), on an annual basis, on or about September 30, the Department shall revise the minimum hourly wage rate, “based on any percentage increase during the one-year period of August of the prior year through August of the current year of the consumer price index (CPI) for all urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W, U.S. City Average), as released by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.” N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.1 indicates further that the Department shall annually, (1) through a public notice published in the New Jersey Register, provide the new CPI-adjusted minimum hourly wage rate, and (2) no later than September 30 of each year, publish the afore-mentioned public notice on the Department’s website. The percent increase in the CPI-W, U.S. City Average, for the one-year period, August 2017 through August 2018, is 2.88 percent. That is, the CPI-W, U.S. City Average, in August 2017 was 239.448, and in August 2018 it was 246.336. Consequently, the change in the index over the one-year period equals 6.888, or an increase of 2.88 percent (6.888/239.448x100). Using as a base for the calculation the current New Jersey minimum hourly wage rate of $8.60 (since as of this date, $8.60 is greater than both the minimum hourly wage rate set by section 6(a)(1) of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the rate provided under N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4)
Other years
Every New Jersey Minimum Wage year · Minimum Wage in every state