As of 2026, Kentucky's minimum wage is $7.25 per hour for most non-tipped employees, the same as the federal minimum under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Kentucky's wage law, found in KRS 337.275, ties the state minimum to the federal rate, so the two have moved in lockstep since the last federal increase in 2009. Unlike many neighboring states, Kentucky has no scheduled increases, no inflation indexing, and no city or county that may set a higher local minimum. Before relying on this figure for a paycheck dispute, confirm the current rate with the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet, Division of Wages and Hours, because the legislature can change it and the FLSA baseline can shift.
The Kentucky minimum wage and how it compares to federal law
Kentucky sets its minimum wage by statute at $7.25 per hour. The federal FLSA also sets $7.25 per hour. When a state and the federal government both have a minimum wage, the worker is entitled to the higher of the two. Because Kentucky's rate equals the federal rate, there is currently no practical gap, every covered Kentucky worker is guaranteed at least $7.25 per hour.
This matters because some states (Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, and others bordering Kentucky) have minimums well above $7.25. Kentucky has not followed that path. Bills to raise Kentucky's minimum wage have been introduced repeatedly in the General Assembly but have not become law. As a result, Kentucky remains one of the states tied to the federal floor.
Kentucky law applies to most employers in the state, and where an employer is covered by both Kentucky law and the FLSA, the employee gets the protection of whichever law is more generous on a given point. For straight minimum wage today, that distinction does not change the dollar amount, but it can matter for overtime, recordkeeping, and other rules.
The tipped (cash) wage and the tip credit
Kentucky allows employers of tipped employees to pay a lower direct cash wage and count a portion of tips toward the minimum wage obligation. The tipped cash wage in Kentucky is $2.13 per hour, which mirrors the federal tipped minimum under the FLSA. An employer may take a "tip credit" of up to $5.12 per hour, the difference between $2.13 and $7.25.
The tip credit only works if the math adds up for the worker. The rule is straightforward in principle: cash wage ($2.13) plus tips must equal at least $7.25 per hour for every hour worked. If a tipped employee's tips in a given workweek do not bring total earnings up to $7.25 per hour, the employer must make up the difference. A server cannot legally be left earning less than the full minimum wage once tips are counted.
To qualify as a "tipped employee," a worker generally must customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. Employers must also follow rules on tip pooling and may not keep employees' tips for the house or for managers and supervisors. If an employer fails to inform the employee of the tip credit, takes too large a credit, or skims tips, it can lose the right to the tip credit entirely and owe the full $7.25 for those hours.
Scheduled increases and inflation indexing
Kentucky has no automatic annual increase and no cost-of-living (inflation) indexing built into its minimum wage. The rate changes only if the General Assembly amends KRS 337.275 or if Congress raises the federal FLSA minimum (which would pull Kentucky's tied rate up with it). This is different from states like Ohio and Missouri, where the minimum wage adjusts each January based on inflation. In Kentucky, the number can sit unchanged for years, as it has since 2009.
Because there is no indexing, do not assume the rate rose just because time has passed. The safest practice is to check the official figure each year rather than relying on memory or a number from a prior job.
City and county minimum wages: why Kentucky has none
Some workers ask whether Louisville or Lexington has its own higher minimum wage. They do not, and they legally cannot. Both Louisville Metro and Lexington-Fayette passed local minimum wage ordinances in 2015, but the Kentucky Supreme Court struck them down in 2016, holding that local governments lack authority to set a minimum wage above the state rate. Following that decision, the Kentucky legislature's framework leaves wage-setting to the state.