2021 Iowa Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2021 Iowa Tipped Minimum Wage is $4.35.
Effective 2021-01-01Source: Wage Claims FAQ (Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2020
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2020.
| Item | 2020 | 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $4.35 | $4.35 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Tipped employees in Iowa and their employers
What changed this year, and why
In 2021, the minimum cash wage that Iowa employers may pay tipped employees is $4.35 per hour.
Common questions
- What was the tipped minimum wage in Iowa in 2021?
- In 2021, an Iowa employer may pay a tipped employee a minimum cash wage of $4.35 per hour. The employer must make up the difference if the employee's cash wage and tips do not together average at least the full minimum wage in any work week.
Who counts as a tipped employee
In Iowa, you are considered a tipped employee if you customarily and regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips. This classification allows your employer to pay you a lower direct cash wage than the standard minimum wage, because the law assumes your tips will make up the gap. If you do not meet this $30-per-month threshold, your employer must pay you the full minimum wage without counting any tips toward that obligation.
If you make $30 per month or more in tips, the employer may pay as little as $4.35 per hour.
Wage Claims FAQ (Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
Iowa law lets an employer take a tip credit — that is, count a portion of the tips you receive toward its minimum-wage obligation — so long as it still pays you at least the minimum cash wage of $4.35 per hour. The tip credit is the difference between that $4.35 direct wage and the full minimum wage, meaning your employer is allowed to pay you less up front on the assumption that your tips will cover the rest. The employer's obligation, however, is measured each work week: the $4.35 cash wage and your tips together must average at least the full minimum wage for every hour you worked that week.
If you make $30 per month or more in tips, the employer may pay as little as $4.35 per hour. If in any work week the wage the employer pays you and the tips you receive do not average at least $7.25 per hour, the employer is required to pay the difference.
Wage Claims FAQ (Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
Even when an Iowa employer pays the reduced cash wage of $4.35 per hour to a tipped employee, it remains responsible for making sure the employee actually receives the full minimum wage in every work week. If in any given work week the $4.35 hourly wage plus the tips received do not add up to at least the full minimum wage for each hour worked, the employer must make up the difference. This is a week-by-week calculation, so a slow week with few tips triggers the employer's obligation to top off the employee's pay, while a busy week with strong tips does not.
If in any work week the wage the employer pays you and the tips you receive do not average at least $7.25 per hour, the employer is required to pay the difference.
Wage Claims FAQ (Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing)
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.
Wage Claims FAQ (Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing)
- Minimum cash wage
If you make $30 per month or more in tips, the employer may pay as little as $4.35 per hour.
Other years
Every Iowa Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state