2026 Virginia Minimum Wage

Who it applies to

Employers and employees in Virginia covered by the state minimum wage law. The Department of Labor's table gives Virginia's basic minimum rate with no employer-size condition attached, unlike its entries for several other states, and it names no exclusion from coverage. It also does not display subminimum rates for minors, students or trainees, or any higher rate a local government has set.

What changed this year, and why

The U.S. Department of Labor's table of state minimum wage laws, updated July 1, 2026, lists Virginia's basic minimum rate as $12.77 per hour. The entry adds that the Virginia minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula, which is a statement the table makes for only some jurisdictions. It records no dated step inside the year, and no earlier year of this record is published here, so this page states no year-over-year change.

Common questions

What is the minimum wage in Virginia in 2026?

It is $12.77 per hour. That is the basic minimum rate the U.S. Department of Labor lists for Virginia in its State Minimum Wage Laws table, in the version updated July 1, 2026. The figure published here is taken from that entry and from nothing else, so it reflects the state rate as the department recorded it on that date.

How is the Virginia minimum wage adjusted each year?

The Department of Labor's entry for Virginia states that the Virginia minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula. That is the whole of what the table says about the mechanism: it does not name the index the formula uses, the body that publishes it, or the date on which a recalculated rate takes effect. This page repeats the department's statement and adds nothing to it.

Will the Virginia minimum wage go up in 2026?

The table lists a single basic minimum rate for Virginia with no dated step attached, so this page shows one rate for the year. The entry does say the rate is adjusted annually under a set formula, but it gives no future amount. A change taking effect after the table's July 1, 2026 update would not appear here until the department republishes the table and this record is verified against it again.

Which employers have to pay the Virginia minimum wage?

The table's Virginia entry states a basic minimum rate and attaches no employer-size condition to it. For several other states the same table opens the entry with a coverage line limiting the rate to employers above a stated headcount; Virginia's entry carries no such line. The department's table also does not itself list the exemptions written into the state law.

Does the Virginia entry state an overtime threshold?

No. Some entries in the same table carry a premium pay after designated hours line, naming a weekly threshold and sometimes a daily one as well. The Virginia entry carries no such line at all: it gives the basic minimum rate and the annual adjustment statement and nothing else. This page therefore makes no claim about when premium pay begins in Virginia.

Is there a separate tipped minimum wage for Virginia?

The Department of Labor's state table lists one basic minimum rate per hour for Virginia and no separate cash wage for tipped employees, so this page does not publish one. The same table says plainly that differential provisions are not displayed in it, naming subminimum rates for minors and students and training wages for new hires as its examples.

Is Virginia's minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage?

Yes. The same Department of Labor table cites the current federal minimum wage in its entries for states that have no minimum wage law of their own, and Virginia's basic minimum rate is above that amount. Virginia's entry also carries no clause adopting the federal rate by reference or replacing the state rate when the federal one is higher, which some other states' entries do carry.

Where does the $12.77 figure on this page come from?

From the Wage and Hour Division's State Minimum Wage Laws table at dol.gov, in the snapshot captured for this record, where the Virginia entry gives the basic minimum rate per hour as $12.77. The division notes on the same page that it tries to keep the information accurate and that individuals should consult the relevant state labor office for official information.

Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Minimum wage pay calculator takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.