Minnesota Minimum Wage $11.41/Hour, Meal and Rest Break Changes Effective January 2026
Summary
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry announces that the state's minimum wage will increase to $11.41 per hour for all employers effective January 1, 2026, reflecting a 2.5% inflation adjustment. The 90-day training wage for workers under age 20 increases to $9.31. New meal and rest break requirements also take effect, mandating at least 15-minute paid rest breaks for every four consecutive hours worked and 30-minute unpaid meal breaks for shifts of six or more hours. Minneapolis and St. Paul have separate minimum wage ordinances with potentially higher rates.
What changed
Minnesota's minimum wage increases to $11.41/hour on January 1, 2026, up from $11.13/hour, reflecting a 2.5% inflation adjustment. The 90-day training wage for workers under age 20 increases to $9.31. New meal and rest break requirements take effect, requiring employers to provide at least 15-minute paid rest breaks for every four consecutive hours worked and 30-minute unpaid meal breaks for shifts of six or more hours.\n\nAll Minnesota employers must update state-mandated workplace posters, provide written employee notice of rate changes before the effective date, and ensure compliance with new break requirements. Minneapolis employers face separate minimum wage ordinances at $16.37/hour indexed rate, while St. Paul has tiered rates for macro, large, small, and micro employers. The 2025 minimum wage report notes full-time annual wages at Minnesota's minimum will be $23,750 as of January 1, 2026.
What to do next
- Update state-mandated workplace posters to reflect new minimum wage rates
- Provide written employee notice of rate changes before January 1, 2026
Archived snapshot
Apr 16, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
- About DLI
- Boards and councils
- Careers at DLI
- News, data requests
- Our areas of service
- Rulemaking
New minimum-wage rates, changes to meal and rest break laws take effect Jan. 1, 2026
New minimum-wage rates, changes to meal and rest break laws take effect Jan. 1, 2026
December 17, 2025
Minnesota's minimum-wage rate will be adjusted for inflation Jan. 1, 2026, to $11.41 an hour for all employers in the state.
The 90-day training wage for workers under age 20 will increase to $9.31. These rates reflect a 2.5% increase.
The cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have minimum-wage ordinances that require higher minimum-wage rates for work performed in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Minnesota law requires employers to display state-mandated posters in a location where employees can easily see them. The posters are available at no cost and need to be updated only when Minnesota law changes.
Employee notice updates may be required
As part of Minnesota's employee notice requirement, employers are required to provide each employee with a written notice of any change before the change takes effect, including a change to the employee's rate of pay.
Changes to meal and rest break laws take effect Jan. 1, 2026
In addition to the updated minimum-wage rates, new requirements for Minnesota's meal and rest breaks law take effect Jan. 1, 2026. The updated law clarifies that employers must generally allow employees to take:
- A paid rest break that is at least 15 minutes for every four consecutive hours worked.
- An unpaid meal break that is at least 30 minutes when working six or more consecutive hours. New FAQs are available to help employers and workers understand the updated requirements. Visit dli.mn.gov/breaks for more information.
2025 Minnesota minimum-wage report released
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry has released its 2025 Minnesota minimum-wage report.
Key findings
- Minimum wages in 2025 dollars: Adjusting for inflation, the 2025 Minnesota minimum wage of $11.13 an hour is below the average rate of the federal minimum wage for 1960 through 1981, which was equivalent to $12.68 an hour in 2025 dollars. The 2025 Minneapolis minimum wage of $15.97 and the St. Paul small-employer minimum wage of $15 are higher, adjusting for inflation, than the $14.78 peak reached by the federal minimum wage in 1968.
- Effective minimum wages for Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul: The Minnesota minimum wage -- $11.13 an hour for all employers in 2025 -- is indexed annually for inflation and will increase to $11.41 for all employers Jan. 1, 2026. The minimum wage for Minneapolis small employers is now equal to that of large employers. As of Jan. 1, 2025, the minimum wage for all employers in Minneapolis and for macro and large employers in St. Paul reached $15.97 and, indexed for inflation, will increase to $16.37 on Jan. 1, 2026. The minimum wage for small employers in St. Paul reached $15 on July 1, 2025, and will increase to $16.37 on July 1, 2026. The minimum wage for micro employers in St. Paul is $13.25 as of July 1, 2025; this rate will increase to $14.25 by July 2026 and $15 by July 2027 and be indexed for inflation thereafter.
- Full-time annual earnings at the effective minimum wages: For workers earning the Minnesota minimum hourly wage and working 40 hours a week, annual wages in 2025 are $23,150 for all workers, except for workers under age 20 undergoing training in their first 90 days of employment. As of Jan. 1, 2025, workers at all Minneapolis employers and St. Paul macro and large employers earn annual full-time wages of $33,218, which will increase to $34,050 on Jan. 1, 2026. As of July 1, 2025, workers at St. Paul small employers earn $31,200, which will increase to $34,050 on July 1, 2026, and workers at St. Paul micro employers earn $27,560, which will increase to $29,640 on July 1, 2026. View the full report.
Named provisions
Related changes
Get daily alerts for MN DLI News Archive
Daily digest delivered to your inbox.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Source
About this page
Every important government, regulator, and court update from around the world. One place. Real-time. Free. Our mission
Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from MN DLI.
The summary, classification, recommended actions, deadlines, and penalty information are AI-generated from the original text and may contain errors. Always verify against the source document.
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when MN DLI News Archive publishes new changes.
Subscribed!
Optional. Filters your digest to exactly the updates that matter to you.