The minimum wage in Maryland is $15.00 per hour statewide, but three counties set higher floors that depend on employer size. If you work in Montgomery, Howard, or Prince George’s County, your rate is likely above $15.00. Everywhere else in the state, $15.00 is the number.
Maryland’s Statewide Rate
Every employer in Maryland must pay at least $15.00 per hour, with no distinction between large and small businesses.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Labor and Employment Code 3-413 That rate took effect January 1, 2024, when the small-employer tier (14 or fewer employees) caught up with the large-employer tier. No further automatic statewide increases are written into the statute, so $15.00 remains the state floor until the legislature changes it.
Where a county has set a higher rate, your employer must pay whichever rate is highest among local, state, and federal law.
Montgomery County
Montgomery County has the highest minimum wage in Maryland, and the amount depends on how many people your employer has. As of July 1, 2025:2Montgomery County Government. Montgomery County Minimum Wage Increase
- Large employers: $17.65 per hour
- Mid-sized employers: $16.00 per hour
- Small employers: $15.50 per hour
On July 1, 2026, those rates rise to $18.00, $16.50, and $15.95, respectively. The county adjusts its large-employer rate each July 1 based on the prior year’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners in the Washington region, rounded to the nearest five cents.3American Legal Publishing. Montgomery County Code 27-68 – Minimum Wage Required Mid-sized and small employer rates get additional catch-up increases until they reach the large-employer rate.
Howard County
In Howard County, employers with 15 or more employees must pay $16.00 per hour as of January 1, 2025. Employers with fewer than 15 employees pay the $15.00 state rate through 2025, $15.50 starting January 1, 2026, and $16.00 starting July 1, 2026.4Maryland Department of Labor. Maryland Minimum Wage and Overtime Law
Prince George’s County
Prince George’s County set its minimum wage at $15.30 per hour beginning January 1, 2026.4Maryland Department of Labor. Maryland Minimum Wage and Overtime Law Before that date, the $15.00 state rate applies.
Tipped Workers
Employers may pay tipped employees a cash wage as low as $3.63 per hour, but only if the worker regularly earns more than $30 a month in tips. The cash wage plus tips has to add up to at least the applicable minimum wage, whether that’s $15.00 statewide or a higher county rate. When tips fall short, the employer must cover the gap.5Maryland Department of Labor. Tipped Employees – Payment of Less Than Minimum Wage
Managers, supervisors, and owners with at least a 20% equity stake cannot keep tips earned by other employees or participate in a tip pool. A manager may keep only tips received for service they personally and solely provided.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 15B – Managers and Supervisors Under the FLSA and Tips
Youth Rates
Workers under 18 can be paid 85% of the state minimum wage, which comes to $12.75 per hour at the current $15.00 rate. There is no weekly hour cap on this reduced rate.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Labor and Employment Code 3-413
Workers under 16 who put in 20 hours a week or fewer are fully exempt from the state minimum wage law, meaning no state wage floor applies to them.7Justia Law. Maryland Labor and Employment Code 3-403 The federal $7.25 rate still covers most of these workers if the employer is subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Who Is Exempt From Maryland’s Minimum Wage
Several categories of workers fall outside the state minimum wage entirely. Federal law may still apply, but the $15.00 state floor does not cover:7Justia Law. Maryland Labor and Employment Code 3-403
- Immediate family of the employer (child, parent, spouse, or other household family member)
- Executive, administrative, and professional employees as defined by the state Commissioner of Labor
- Outside salespeople and commission-based workers
- Certain agricultural employees, including hand-harvest piece-rate workers and range livestock workers
- Volunteers for charitable, educational, religious, or nonprofit organizations
- Workers at cafes, drive-ins, drugstores, restaurants, and taverns with $250,000 or less in annual gross income
- Camp employees in nonadministrative roles at a resident or day camp
- Workers age 62 or older employed 25 hours a week or fewer
Maryland phased out subminimum wages for workers with disabilities by October 2020 under the Ken Capone Equal Employment Act. The Commissioner of Labor can no longer issue new certificates allowing employers to pay below the minimum wage based on disability.8Maryland General Assembly. Fiscal and Policy Note – House Bill 420
If You’re Being Paid Less Than the Minimum
Maryland’s Employment Standards Service within the Department of Labor handles wage complaints. You have three options under the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law, and you can only pick one: send your employer a certified demand letter and then file a claim with ESS if payment doesn’t come, file a complaint directly with ESS, or hire a private attorney to sue in court.9Maryland Department of Labor. Wage Issues – Having Problems with My Pay
If a court finds that an employer withheld wages without a genuine dispute, it can award up to three times the unpaid wages plus reasonable attorney fees.10Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Labor and Employment Code 3-507.2 An employer who shorts a worker $2,000 could end up owing $6,000 plus legal costs. Keeping your own copies of pay stubs and time records matters here, because those are the documents an investigator will ask you for.