2021 Utah Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2021 Utah Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.13.
Effective 2021-01-01Source: Wage Claim (Utah Labor Commission, Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2020
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2020.
| Item | 2020 | 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.13 | $2.13 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Tipped employees in Utah
What changed this year, and why
Utah's minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $2.13 per hour for 2021. Employers may pay this amount only when the tips received plus the cash wage together reach at least the full minimum wage.
Common questions
- What is the tipped minimum wage in Utah for 2021?
- In 2021, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees in Utah is $2.13 per hour. An employer may pay this base wage only if the employee's tips, combined with the cash wage, total at least the full minimum wage.
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
In Utah, the tip credit is the gap between the cash wage your employer actually hands you and the full state minimum wage. The employer may pay a direct cash wage of $2.13 an hour and treat the tips you receive as making up the rest of the difference to reach the minimum wage. For a Utah worker, this means your paycheck from the employer can be smaller than other workers' paychecks, but only because your tips are legally counted as part of your compensation. The employer is allowed to take that credit only if the combined total — the $2.13 cash wage plus the tips you actually receive — reaches at least the minimum wage. If the sum falls short, the employer cannot rely on the tip credit for those hours and must pay you more out of its own pocket. The credit exists to let restaurants and similar businesses pay a lower base wage to workers whose tips routinely bring their earnings up to or above the minimum wage floor.
Tipped employees (adults and minors) may be paid $2.13 per hour, but only so long as the tips they earn, in addition to the base wage paid, combined are equal to or exceed the minimum wage.
Wage Claim (Utah Labor Commission, Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
Under Utah law, if the tips you receive plus the $2.13 an hour cash wage your employer pays you do not add up to at least the full minimum wage, the employer must pay you enough to reach that floor. The rule is explicit: the cash wage of $2.13 per hour is allowed only if the total of the cash wage and the tips equals at least $7.25 per hour. For a Utah tipped worker, this means a slow shift or a slow week does not leave you stuck below the legal minimum. Your employer has to track what you earn in tips and, for any hour where the cash wage plus tips fall short of $7.25, pay you the shortfall out of its own funds. The rule exists so that the risk of low tip income falls on the business, not on the employee. The employer may not simply accept a lower total and call it a day — it owes you enough to reach $7.25 per hour for every hour you worked.
Employees receiving tips of at least $30.00 per month may be paid a cash wage of $2.13 per hour, if the total of the cash wage and the tips total at least $7.25 per hour.
Wage Claim (Utah Labor Commission, Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division)
When state law gives more than the federal rule
Utah's wage law operates alongside federal wage and hour law, and when both sets of rules apply, the standard that gives the worker more protection controls. The Utah Minimum Wage Act and its administrative rules outline requirements for individuals earning tips, and where those requirements differ from the federal baseline, employers must comply with whichever standard is more protective of the employee. For a Utah tipped worker, this means you are never forced to accept the weaker of two overlapping rules. If federal law gives you a stronger right — for example, a higher minimum cash wage or tighter limits on tip pooling — the employer must follow the federal rule. If Utah's own law goes further in protecting your wages, then Utah's rule controls. The principle ensures that the tip credit system works in your favor under whichever framework, state or federal, puts more money in your pocket or gives you stronger protections on the job.
However, there are some Federal standards that are stricter than Utah law, and if the Federal law applies the employer must comply with the stricter requirement.
Wage Claim (Utah Labor Commission, Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division)
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 Claim (Utah Labor Commission, Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division)
- Minimum cash wage
Employees receiving tips of at least $30.00 per month may be paid a cash wage of $2.13 per hour, if the total of the cash wage and the tips total at least $7.25 per hour.
Other years
Every Utah Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state