Free calculator
2027 minimum wage raise calculator
Paste or load your staff list (employee, state, city, hourly or salary, rate, hours, tipped, exempt). For each person: the 2027 floor that applies, the date they fall under it, the raise per hour, the cost over a full year and inside 2027, and exempt salaries under the new threshold. The list never leaves your browser.
Sample data: made-up rows to show how it works. The list stays in this browser: nothing is uploaded or sent to analytics.
2027 result (Sample data)
- Employees checked
- 6
- Below a 2027 floor
- 5
- Raises, full year
- $7,510
- Raises inside 2027
- $7,510
1 employee is in a place whose 2027 figure is not published yet: checked against the last published rate, so the real raise can be higher.
1 exempt employee under the 2027 salary threshold: raise the salary to the threshold or pay overtime as non-exempt.
| Employee | Where | Type | Pay now | 2027 floor | Below from | Raise /h | Full year | In 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line cook A | California | Hourly | $17.00/h | $17.40 | January 1, 2027 | $0.40 | $790 | $790 |
| Server B | Colorado | Tipped (cash wage) | $12.14/h | $12.69 | January 1, 2027 | $0.55 | $858 | $858 |
| Cashier C | Seattle (city), WA | Hourly | $21.30/h | $22.14 or more To be announced | January 1, 2027 | $0.84 | $1,398 | $1,398 |
| Stocker D | Michigan | Hourly | $14.00/h | $15.00 | January 1, 2027 | $1.00 | $2,080 | $2,080 |
| Store manager E | California | Salary, exempt | $70,000/yr | $72,384/yr | January 1, 2027 | — | $2,384 | $2,384 |
| Warehouse F | Texas | Hourly | $12.00/h | $7.25 | OK | $0.00 | $0 | $0 |
Floor = the highest of the federal, state and city minimum on each date (for tipped staff, the minimum cash wage). Full year = raise per hour x hours x 52 weeks at the end-of-2027 floor; in 2027 = each floor from its effective date to the next change. Exempt staff: the gap to the 2027 salary threshold. Coverage rules (small employers, minors, training wages) are not applied.
Budgeting 2027 raises? Pro makes it a workbook.
Your staff list with the 2027 floor per person, the raise, its cost and the exempt salary check, a totals sheet and a rate card per state with sources, as Excel with live formulas.
How it works
For each employee the floor on each date is the highest of the federal minimum ($7.25), the state rate and the city or county rate you typed. Tipped staff are checked against the minimum cash wage (never under the federal $2.13; in states with no tip credit, the full minimum). A salaried non-exempt employee is converted to an hourly rate: salary / (hours x 52). An exempt employee is checked against the 2027 salary threshold, the higher of federal and state.
Raise per hour = end-of-2027 floor - pay now. Full year = raise x hours a week x 52. In 2027 = each floor from its effective date to the next change, so a July 1 increase counts for 184 of the 365 days. Where a 2027 figure is not published yet, the employee is checked against the last published rate and flagged: the real raise can be higher.
Sample data: Line cook A in California at $17.00 an hour, 38 hours a week, needs $0.40 more an hour to reach $17.40: $790 over a full year. The whole sample list comes to $7,510 a year.
Sources of the rates
- Federal minimum wage: US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, State Minimum Wage Laws: "the current Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour" — https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state, read on 2026-09-30
- Federal tipped cash wage: US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (revised July 1, 2026): FLSA minimum cash wage $2.13, maximum tip credit $5.12 — https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped, read on 2026-09-30
- State, city and exempt figures: each figure's official page, listed on the 2027 by state page (/minimum-wage-2027/), checked 2026-09-30, read on 2026-09-30
Frequently asked questions
- How much will the 2027 minimum wage increase cost my business?
- Paste your staff list above: the calculator adds, for every employee under the new floor, the raise per hour x hours x 52 weeks, and separately the part that falls inside 2027 given each increase's date. It does not add payroll taxes or raises you give to keep pay differences between staff.
- Do I have to pay the city minimum wage or the state one?
- The higher one. Type the city in the city column (for example Seattle, Denver, Chicago or Los Angeles) and the calculator uses whichever is highest on each date.
- Does a salaried employee have to earn the minimum wage?
- A non-exempt salaried employee must earn at least the minimum wage for every hour worked, so the calculator divides the salary by hours x 52. An exempt employee must be paid at least the exempt salary threshold, which is checked instead.
- What does 'to be announced' mean for an employee?
- Their state or city adjusts the minimum wage for inflation and has not published the 2027 figure yet. They are checked against the last published rate; recheck when the figure is announced.
- Is my staff list uploaded?
- No. Everything runs in your browser and the list is kept in this browser's storage for the Pro workbook. Nothing is sent to a server or to analytics.
Guides
- How to budget for 2027 minimum wage raises (worked example)
Who on your staff list falls under a 2027 floor, from which date, the raise per hour and the cost for the year: the method step by step on a sample roster.