2023 New Jersey Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2023 New Jersey Tipped Minimum Wage is $5.26.
Effective 2023-01-01Source: New Jersey’s Minimum Wage to Increase to $14.13/Hour for Most Employees on Jan. 1 (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)Verified 2026-08-31
Compared with 2022
| Item | 2022 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $5.13 | $5.26 | +$0.13 (+2.5%) |
Who it applies to
Tipped workers in New Jersey whose employer claims a tip credit against the state minimum wage.
What changed this year, and why
New Jersey's minimum cash wage for tipped workers rose to $5.26 an hour on January 1, 2023, from $5.13 the year before.
Common questions
- What was the tipped minimum cash wage in New Jersey in 2023?
- New Jersey's minimum cash wage for tipped workers was $5.26 per hour, effective January 1, 2023.
- What if tips do not reach the minimum wage?
- If the cash wage plus the worker's tips do not equal at least the state minimum wage, the employer must pay the difference.
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
In New Jersey, a tip credit allows an employer to count a portion of the tips you receive toward its minimum wage obligation. The employer must pay you a direct cash wage of at least $5.26 per hour, and may claim a tip credit of up to $8.87 per hour. This means your cash wage plus your tips must equal at least the full state minimum wage for every hour you work. If your tips in a given workweek do not bring your total earnings up to the state minimum wage, your employer must pay you the difference. The tip credit is not automatic—your employer must pay you the full cash wage first, and only then may it count your tips toward meeting the minimum wage requirement. This system ensures that tipped employees in New Jersey receive at least the full state minimum wage when their cash wages and tips are combined.
Tipped workers’ cash wage will increase to $5.26/hour, with employers able to claim an $8.87 tip credit, an increase in the maximum allowable tip credit of $1.
New Jersey’s Minimum Wage to Increase to $14.13/Hour for Most Employees on Jan. 1 (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
In New Jersey, if your cash wage of $5.26 per hour plus your tips do not equal at least the full state minimum wage, your employer must make up the difference. This requirement protects tipped employees from earning less than the minimum wage due to low tip income in any workweek. Your employer cannot simply pay you the lower cash wage and leave you with less than the minimum wage if your tips are insufficient. The employer is legally obligated to track your total earnings—cash wage plus tips—and pay you additional compensation if needed to reach the state minimum wage threshold. This rule ensures that the tip credit system does not result in sub-minimum wage earnings for tipped workers in New Jersey.
If the minimum cash wage plus an employee’s tips do not equal at least the state minimum wage, then the employer must pay the employee the difference.
New Jersey’s Minimum Wage to Increase to $14.13/Hour for Most Employees on Jan. 1 (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
In New Jersey, before an employer can take a tip credit and pay you the lower cash wage of $5.26 per hour instead of the full state minimum wage, it must provide you with specific notice. This notice must inform you of the amount of cash wage the employer is required to pay, the additional amount claimed as a tip credit, that the tip credit cannot exceed the tips actually received, and that all tips you receive are yours to keep except for valid tip pooling arrangements. This notice requirement ensures that tipped employees in New Jersey understand how their wages are calculated and what protections apply to them. Without proper notice, your employer cannot legally claim the tip credit and must pay you the full state minimum wage.
Tipped workers’ cash wage will increase to $5.26/hour, with employers able to claim an $8.87 tip credit, an increase in the maximum allowable tip credit of $1.
New Jersey’s Minimum Wage to Increase to $14.13/Hour for Most Employees on Jan. 1 (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
In New Jersey, employers, managers, and supervisors are prohibited from keeping any portion of employees' tips. All tips you receive belong to you, not to your employer or anyone in a supervisory role. This rule applies regardless of whether tips are received directly from customers, through a tip pool, or via credit card payments. Your employer cannot deduct from your tips, require you to share tips with managers or owners, or take any portion of your tip income for any reason. The only exception is valid tip pooling among non-supervisory employees who customarily receive tips. This protection ensures that tipped workers in New Jersey retain full ownership of the tip income they earn through their work.
Tipped workers’ cash wage will increase to $5.26/hour, with employers able to claim an $8.87 tip credit, an increase in the maximum allowable tip credit of $1.
New Jersey’s Minimum Wage to Increase to $14.13/Hour for Most Employees on Jan. 1 (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
In New Jersey, tip pools are limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips. This means your employer can only require you to share tips with other workers who also regularly receive tips as part of their job, such as other servers, bartenders, or bussers. Employers cannot include managers, supervisors, or non-tipped employees like cooks or dishwashers in a tip pool. All participants in the tip pool must be employees who customarily receive tips in their normal work duties. This restriction protects tipped workers from having to share their tip income with people who do not rely on tips as part of their compensation. If your employer requires you to participate in an invalid tip pool that includes non-tipped workers or supervisors, it may be violating New Jersey wage laws.
Tipped workers’ cash wage will increase to $5.26/hour, with employers able to claim an $8.87 tip credit, an increase in the maximum allowable tip credit of $1.
New Jersey’s Minimum Wage to Increase to $14.13/Hour for Most Employees on Jan. 1 (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
Doing two jobs for one employer
In New Jersey, an employee who performs both tipped and non-tipped work for the same employer is a tipped employee only with respect to their employment in the tipped occupation. This means your employer can only pay you the lower cash wage of $5.26 per hour for the time you spend in tipped duties. For any time you spend performing non-tipped work—such as cleaning, cooking, or administrative tasks—your employer must pay you the full state minimum wage. Employers must track and separate your tipped and non-tipped hours accurately. If your employer requires you to perform substantial non-tipped work but pays you only the tipped wage for all hours, it may be violating New Jersey wage laws. This rule ensures that you receive appropriate compensation for each type of work you perform.
Tipped workers’ cash wage will increase to $5.26/hour, with employers able to claim an $8.87 tip credit, an increase in the maximum allowable tip credit of $1.
New Jersey’s Minimum Wage to Increase to $14.13/Hour for Most Employees on Jan. 1 (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
How each figure was verified
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New Jersey’s Minimum Wage to Increase to $14.13/Hour for Most Employees on Jan. 1 (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
- Minimum cash wage
Tipped workers’ cash wage will increase to $5.26/hour, with employers able to claim an $8.87 tip credit, an increase in the maximum allowable tip credit of $1.
Other years
Every New Jersey Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state