2026 North Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2026 North Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage is $4.86.
Effective 2026-01-01Source: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (DOL)Verified 2026-08-30
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in North Dakota. The cash wage is the part of the minimum wage the employer pays directly. The rest may be met by the employee's tips, up to the maximum tip credit the same row of the table states, and the table sets out separately how much an employee must receive in tips to count as a tipped employee at all.
What changed this year, and why
The Wage and Hour Division's table of minimum wages for tipped employees, in the version last revised July 1, 2026, gives $4.86 per hour as the minimum cash wage an employer may pay a tipped employee in North Dakota. The table carries only its own revision date and never dates the rate, so this page reports the figure as in force as of that revision rather than claiming an effective date no document states.
Common questions
- What is the tipped minimum wage in North Dakota in 2026?
- $4.86 per hour in cash wages. That is what the Department of Labor's table of minimum wages for tipped employees, last revised July 1, 2026, gives as the minimum cash wage for a tipped employee in North Dakota. Tips make up the remainder of the applicable minimum wage, up to the maximum tip credit stated in the same row.
- What if tips do not bring the employee up to the full minimum wage?
- The employer pays the difference. A tip credit is a credit against the minimum wage the employer already owes, not a lower wage in its own right, so an employee whose cash wage and tips together fall short of the applicable minimum wage is owed the shortfall in wages.
- Where does the figure on this page come from?
- From Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees, the table the Wage and Hour Division publishes by state, in the version last revised July 1, 2026. The row it was read from is quoted on this page, and the snapshot it was verified against is the one captured for this record.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Tips needed per hour takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
Who counts as a tipped employee
In North Dakota, an employee counts as a tipped employee under federal law if they work in an occupation where they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. This threshold determines whether an employer may pay the lower minimum cash wage of $4.86 rather than the full minimum wage. If the employee does not meet this monthly tip threshold, the employer must pay the regular minimum wage for all hours worked. Only tips the employee actually receives count toward this determination. The rule applies occupation by occupation, so an employee who splits time between a tipped role and a non-tipped role may be a tipped employee only for the time spent in the tipped occupation, provided that role alone produces more than $30 per month in tips.
Under the FLSA, a tipped employee is an employee engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
Under the FLSA, an employer may pay a tipped employee a reduced cash wage and claim a tip credit for the gap between that cash wage and the full minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. In North Dakota, the minimum cash wage an employer must pay a tipped employee is $4.86 per hour. The tip credit covers the difference, so that the employer's direct cash payment and the employee's tips together equal at least $7.25 per hour. Only tips that the employee actually receives count when applying the tip credit. The employer must be able to show that the combined total meets the required minimum wage in every single workweek. North Dakota's cash wage requirement of $4.86 is the amount the employer must guarantee in direct wages before any tip credit is applied, and the tip credit makes up the remainder to reach $7.25.
An employer can take an FLSA tip credit equal to the difference between the direct wage, or the cash wage it pays directly to the tipped employee, and the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
Employers in North Dakota who claim a tip credit must verify each workweek that their tipped employees receive at least the full minimum wage of $7.25 per hour when cash wages and tips are combined. If an employee's tips plus the employer's direct cash wages do not reach $7.25 per hour in any given workweek, the employer must make up the difference from its own funds. This obligation exists every workweek without exception, regardless of how busy or slow the business may be. A high-earning week when tips far exceed the minimum wage does not excuse a low-earning week. In North Dakota, the employer pays a minimum cash wage of $4.86 per hour. If that wage plus tips received in a particular week fall short of $7.25, the employer must add enough to bring the total up to $7.25 for each hour worked that week.
If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct (or cash) wages do not equal the minimum hourly wage of $7.25 per hour in each workweek, the employer must make up the difference.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
Before an employer in North Dakota can take a tip credit against a tipped employee's wages, federal law requires the employer to provide specific information to that employee. The notice must include the amount of the cash wage the employer is paying, which in North Dakota must be at least $4.86 per hour; the additional amount the employer is claiming as a tip credit; a statement that the tip credit cannot exceed the tips the employee actually receives; confirmation that the employee retains all tips except for contributions to a valid tip pool; and a statement that the tip credit will not apply unless the employee has received this information. The employer may deliver this notice orally or in writing. If the employer fails to provide all of this information before taking the tip credit, it loses the right to claim the credit entirely and must pay the full minimum wage. This protects tipped workers in North Dakota by ensuring they understand how their wages are calculated.
Employers must provide the following information to tipped employees before taking a tip credit under the FLSA:
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When state law gives more than the federal rule
When North Dakota's own labor laws set a different standard than the federal FLSA for tipped employees, the employer must follow whichever rule provides greater protection to the worker. North Dakota requires a minimum cash wage of $4.86 per hour for tipped employees. If the federal rule would allow a lower cash wage, North Dakota's higher requirement controls because it is more protective of employees. Similarly, if a state law were to prohibit the tip credit entirely, an employer in North Dakota would have to pay the full minimum wage directly rather than relying on a reduced cash wage and a tip credit. This principle means that employers in North Dakota cannot simply default to the federal minimum; they must check whether the state's wage floor, tip-credit rules, or other protections set a higher bar and comply with whichever standard benefits the employee more. The goal is to ensure that tipped workers always receive the most favorable treatment available under either set of laws.
When state law differs from the federal FLSA, an employer must comply with the standard most protective to employees.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
Federal law is clear: regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit, employers in North Dakota may not keep any portion of their employees' tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool. This prohibition applies to owners, managers, and supervisors. A manager or supervisor may not require a tipped employee to hand over tips, and they may not participate in a tip pool that would route employee tips to them. Even if the employer pays the tipped employee at least the required minimum cash wage of $4.86 per hour and takes no tip credit at all, the employer still may not retain the employee's tips. The only tips a manager or supervisor may keep are those they receive directly from a customer for service they personally and solely provided. This rule ensures that tips belong to the workers who earn them from customers, not to the businesses or their leadership in North Dakota.
Regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit, the FLSA prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees’ tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
In North Dakota, when an employer takes a tip credit, it may require tipped employees to share their tips through a tip pool, but that pool is restricted. The pool may include only employees in occupations where they customarily and regularly receive tips. Examples include waiters, bellhops, counter staff who serve customers, bussers, and service bartenders. Non-tipped workers such as cooks, dishwashers, or janitors cannot be included in this type of pool. The employer must notify tipped employees of any required contribution amount before implementing the pool. The employer may only claim a tip credit for tips each employee ultimately retains after the pool is distributed. Importantly, the employer itself may not retain any of the tips that flow through the pool. North Dakota tipped workers should know that their employer cannot force them to share tips with back-of-house staff when the employer is using a tip credit to pay the reduced cash wage of $4.86 per hour.
to a tip pool which is limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips, such as waiters, bellhops, counter personnel (who serve customers), bussers, and service bartenders.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Doing two jobs for one employer
In North Dakota, some workers hold two different roles for the same employer — for example, a hotel maintenance worker who also works as a server. When this happens, the employee is considered a tipped employee only for the time spent in the tipped occupation, such as serving, provided they customarily and regularly receive at least $30 a month in tips from that role. For the hours worked in the other, non-tipped role — such as maintenance duties — no tip credit may be taken, and the employer must pay the full minimum wage for those hours. This means the employer must track time separately for each occupation. The tipped employee must receive at least the minimum cash wage of $4.86 per hour for the server hours and the full minimum wage for the non-tipped hours. The rule prevents employers from applying a tip credit to work that does not produce tips.
In such a situation the employee, if they customarily and regularly receive at least $30 a month in tips for their work as a server, is a tipped employee only with respect to their employment as a server. The worker is employed in two occupations, and no tip credit can be taken for their hours of employment in their occupation as a maintenance person.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
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 Wages for Tipped Employees (DOL)
- Minimum cash wage
North Dakota $7.25 33% of the applicable minimum wage ($2.39) $4.86 More than $30
Other years
- 2026
Every North Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state