2021 Wisconsin Minimum Wage
The 2021 Wisconsin Minimum Wage is $7.25.
Effective 2021-01-01Source: Minimum Wage (Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2020
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2020.
| Item | 2020 | 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | $7.25 | $7.25 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Adult employees of Wisconsin employers covered by the state minimum wage law, other than opportunity employees, tipped employees, caddies and camp counselors, who have rates of their own.
What changed this year, and why
Wisconsin's minimum wage was $7.25 per hour in 2021, unchanged from 2020.
Common questions
- What was Wisconsin's minimum wage in 2021?
- Wisconsin's minimum wage was $7.25 per hour in 2021. The Department of Workforce Development states it as the rate an employee must receive once the opportunity wage no longer applies.
- Does Wisconsin set its own rate, or follow the federal one?
- Wisconsin sets its own rate in state law, and it is $7.25 per hour, the same amount as the federal minimum wage. A Wisconsin employer therefore pays $7.25 whichever law is applied.
Minors, students and training wages: who may be paid less than the rate on this page
Not every worker in Wisconsin is entitled to the full $7.25 hourly rate from the first day of a job. The Department of Workforce Development puts the exception plainly: the opportunity wage is the wage your employer may pay you if you are under 20 years old. It is a lower starting rate tied to the worker's age and to the beginning of employment with a particular employer, not to the kind of work being done. Once that opportunity period is over, or once the worker turns 20, the ordinary Wisconsin minimum wage of $7.25 per hour applies instead. Wisconsin's own rate table also lists separate, lower figures for tipped opportunity employees, caddies and camp counselors, so the $7.25 on this page is the adult, non-tipped, non-opportunity rate. A Wisconsin worker kept on the opportunity wage past the point the law allows is owed the difference, and can raise it with the Equal Rights Division.
The opportunity wage is the wage your employer may pay you if you are under 20 years old.
Minimum Wage (Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development)
Who to ask about this rate, and where to take a wage complaint
Wisconsin's minimum wage is administered by the Equal Rights Division of the Department of Workforce Development, and that division is who to ask about the $7.25 rate or to take a wage complaint to. The department publishes its own details on the minimum wage page: DWD Contact Information, 201 E. Washington Ave, P.O. Box 7946, Madison, WI 53707, (608) 266-3131. The same page sets out a complaint process with an online form and a paper form that can be mailed in, so a Wisconsin worker who believes they were paid below the minimum wage does not have to start with a lawyer. The department also publishes the Wisconsin Minimum Wage Rates poster in English and Spanish, which is the document an employer is expected to display. Questions about which Wisconsin rate applies to a particular job go to the same division.
DWD Contact Information 201 E. Washington Ave P.O. Box 7946 Madison, WI 53707 (608) 266-3131
Minimum Wage (Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development)
When tips, meals or lodging count toward the minimum wage
Wisconsin lets an employer count a tipped worker's gratuities toward the minimum wage, but only on top of a cash wage the employer has to pay itself. The Department of Workforce Development states that floor directly: if you receive tips, your employer must pay you at least $2.33 per hour in wages. Tips are then expected to make up the difference between that cash wage and the $7.25 rate on this page, and where they do not average out to $7.25 over the pay period, the shortfall is the employer's to cover. The $2.33 cash wage is the Wisconsin figure for an adult, non-opportunity tipped employee; the state's rate table lists a still lower cash wage for tipped opportunity employees. A Wisconsin worker paid $2.33 an hour in wages is not being underpaid by that fact alone, but is being underpaid if the tips do not close the gap.
If you receive tips, your employer must pay you at least $2.33 per hour in wages.
Minimum Wage (Wisconsin Department of 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.
Minimum Wage (Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development)
- Hourly
After 90 consecutive calendar days, or when you reach 20 years old, whichever comes first, you must receive a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
Other years
Every Wisconsin Minimum Wage year · Minimum Wage in every state