The minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour in Texas since July 24, 2009 — nearly 17 years. Texas doesn’t set its own rate. State law adopts whatever the federal minimum wage is, and Congress hasn’t raised the federal floor since that 2009 increase. It is the longest stretch without a federal minimum wage increase since the first one was enacted in 1938.
How $7.25 Became the Texas Rate
The current number came out of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which phased in three increases: from $5.15 to $5.85 on July 24, 2007, then to $6.55 on July 24, 2008, and finally to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.1U.S. Department of Labor. History of Changes to the Minimum Wage Law Each step took effect in Texas automatically on the same date. Nothing has been enacted since. The rate written into 29 U.S.C. § 206 still reads $7.25.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 206 – Minimum Wage
Why Texas Moves Only When Congress Moves
Texas Labor Code Section 62.051 is a single sentence: “an employer shall pay to each employee the federal minimum wage under Section 6, Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.”3State of Texas. Texas Labor Code 62.051 – Minimum Wage That language ties the state rate permanently to the federal one. If Congress raises the federal minimum, Texas rises with it. If Congress doesn’t act, neither does the state rate.
The Texas Legislature could set its own higher floor. It hasn’t. The Texas Workforce Commission lists $7.25 as the current rate, effective since July 24, 2009.4Texas Workforce Commission. Texas Minimum Wage Law
A Record-Long Freeze
The previous record was the decade between 1997 and 2007. The current stretch has already passed that mark and keeps growing. Any worker who entered the Texas labor force after July 2009 has never seen the minimum wage go up.
Bills to change that have gone nowhere. The most recent federal attempt is the Raise the Wage Act of 2025, filed in the 119th Congress as S. 1332, which would phase in increases over several years.5Congress.gov. S.1332 – Raise the Wage Act of 2025 As of 2026, it has not advanced to a vote. In the 2025 Texas legislative session, one bill proposed raising the state minimum to $18 per hour or the federal rate plus $0.25, whichever is greater. It was referred to committee and did not move. Until Congress or the Legislature acts, $7.25 stands.
Workers Who Can Legally Be Paid Less
A handful of categories fall below the standard $7.25 rate under both federal and Texas law.
Tipped Employees
Employers may pay tipped workers a base cash wage of $2.13 per hour, as long as tips bring total hourly earnings to at least $7.25. If tips fall short in any workweek, the employer has to make up the difference.6U.S. Department of Labor. Tips
Workers Under 20
A youth minimum wage of $4.25 per hour applies to employees under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days on the job. The clock runs continuously from the first day of work, counting every calendar day regardless of whether the employee actually works. After day 90, the standard $7.25 rate kicks in.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 32 – Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act
Workers With Disabilities and Student Learners
Under Section 14(c) of the FLSA, employers holding a special certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor can pay subminimum wages to workers whose disabilities affect their productive capacity for the specific work performed. A related certificate allows student learners in vocational education to be paid no less than 75 percent of the standard minimum.8U.S. Department of Labor. Subminimum Wage DOL proposed phasing out the disability subminimum in late 2024 but formally withdrew that proposal in July 2025, so the certificates remain available.9Federal Register. Employment of Workers With Disabilities Under Section 14c of the Fair Labor Standards Act – Withdrawal
Cities and Counties Cannot Set a Higher Rate
Texas Labor Code Section 62.0515 preempts local governments from requiring private employers to pay above the state minimum. The statute says the state minimum wage “supersedes a wage established in an ordinance, order, or charter provision governing wages in private employment.” A city ordinance raising the private-sector minimum to $12 or $15 would be unenforceable under current state law. That is why $7.25 applies uniformly across Texas, from rural counties to Austin, Dallas, and Houston.
What to Do If You’re Paid Less Than $7.25
If an employer pays you below $7.25 per hour, or fails to make up the difference on tipped wages, you can file a wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission under the Texas Payday Law. The deadline is strict: TWC must receive the claim within 180 days of the date the wages were originally due. TWC counts the arrival date, not the postmark, so filing online is the safest way to avoid missing the window.10Texas Workforce Commission. Texas Payday Law – Wage Claim
The claim needs the employer’s business name, address, and phone number; each type of unpaid wages with amounts and how you calculated them; and the dates you worked without proper pay. Attach a recent pay stub if you have one, and sign under penalty of perjury. If more than one employer owes you wages, file a separate claim for each. After investigating, TWC mails a Preliminary Wage Determination Order to both sides. Either party can appeal, and collection cannot begin until at least 31 days after that order goes out.
Federal law adds real teeth. An underpaid worker can recover the back wages plus an equal amount in liquidated damages, effectively doubling the recovery, and the court awards attorney’s fees and costs to the employee.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 216 – Penalties The statute of limitations is two years from when the wages were due, or three years if the violation was willful. DOL can also assess civil penalties of up to $2,515 per violation against employers who willfully or repeatedly underpay.12eCFR. 29 CFR Part 579 – Civil Money Penalties
Filing is protected activity. The FLSA bars employers from firing, demoting, cutting hours, or otherwise punishing a worker for reporting a minimum wage violation, whether the report goes to DOL, TWC, or the employer’s own management. The protection covers verbal complaints as well as written ones and extends to former employees.13U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 77A – Prohibiting Retaliation Under the Fair Labor Standards Act If retaliation happens, a worker can file a separate complaint with the Wage and Hour Division or sue, with remedies including reinstatement, lost wages, and matching liquidated damages.