Minimum Wage

Ordinance: SMC 14.19 Rules: SHRR Chapter 90 

Multi-Year Minimum Wage Chart

Minimum Wage Q & A

Seattle's Minimum Wage Ordinance went into effect on April 1, 2015.

The Minimum Wage Ordinance sets the minimum wage for employees working within city limits. The minimum wage increases every year on January 1.

Seattle’s Minimum Wage starting January 1, 2025:

Starting January 1, 2025, all employers, regardless of schedule size, will be required to pay the same minimum wage. Small employers will no longer be able to count tip and/or payments toward an employee’s medical benefit plan toward an employee's minimum compensation requirements under Seattle’s Minimum Wage Ordinance.

The minimum wage for the 2025 calendar year is set forth in the table below:

OLS announces the upcoming year’s minimum wage increase by the Fall of each year. The minimum wage will increase to reflect the rate of inflation, based on the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

Other cities and places outside of Seattle may have their own minimum wage. You can see these minimum wages in one place on Washington State Department of Labor & Industries website here: Local Minimum Wage Rates

If you work or have a business in King County, you can use this map to find the right minimum wage for your location by typing in the address: Minimum Wage Lookup

Other minimum wage laws do not impact the minimum wage in the City of Seattle.