Hourly Minimum Wage in Arkansas

Alaska Alabama Arizona California Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Iowa Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Maryland Maine Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi Montana North Carolina North Dakota Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Nevada New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Vermont Washington Wisconsin West Virginia Wyoming

The state-wide minimum wage for Arkansas is $11.00 per hour as of January 01, 2023.

View all Arkansas minimum wage values

Hourly Minimum Wage for Arkansas and neighboring states in 2023

Alaska Alabama Arizona California Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Iowa Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Maryland Maine Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi Montana North Carolina North Dakota Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Nevada New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Vermont Washington Wisconsin West Virginia Wyoming
View table
Arkansas minimum wage rate is $11.00 per hour in 2023. Workers receive a higher minimum wage in Arkansas that exceeds the Federal Minimum Wage of $7.25. The Arkansas minimum wage applies to most employees, with limited exceptions, including certain tipped employees, students or part-time workers, and other exempt occupations. The top 5 minimum wage states in the U.S. are District of Columbia, Washington, California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour and has not increased since 2009. Demand for a living wage that is fair to workers is rising. In response to this rising demand, numerous states, cities, and other localities have already enacted or will change minimum wage levels. In the few states with no established minimum wage, the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour will continue to apply.
Based on local legislation, many states have already enacted minimum wage increases or approved increases due for implementation at a future date.
These ever-changing laws, effective dates, and methodologies result in minimum wages that may change at different times or differ dramatically within a state or region. Minimum wage changes can be triggered for a location when these pre-determined conditions change and require careful monitoring to ensure compliance to the latest wage levels.
Salary.com continuously tracks all these complex changes. We can help to keep you informed about future changes and stay up to date on the latest minimum wage levels in your essential locations. Show me more data to view U.S. state minimum wages for future years.

Browse Minimum Wage by Year, and Forecast Minimum Wage Increase Trends in Arkansas

The minimum wages in some states are higher than the federal minimum wage in 2023, including District of Columbia, Washington, California, Connecticut, and others. Many of the minimum wage increases were effective on January 01, 2021. Some states have effective dates occurring at different months of the year. Check the chart to stay up to date on the hourly minimum wage in Arkansas.
View upcoming minimum wage changes to be on top of future changes to the minimum wage in your location.
View table

Hourly Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees in Arkansas

View table
The tipped minimum wage is the lowest amount employers can pay an employee in occupations such as a bartender or server, that regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. In some states, the tipped minimum wage may be lower than the non-tipped minimum wage because employers can claim a tip credit.
It is important to note that the tipped minimum wage can vary depending on where your business is and the size of the business. In some states, the tipped minimum wage is equal to the overall minimum wage for that state. In some locations, the federal tipped minimum wage applies. In other locations, the state-tipped minimum wage is set above the federal minimum. Tipped minimum wages may vary from state to state and can be frequently adjusted, making it essential to stay informed about the latest wage levels.
In Arkansas, the tipped minimum wage is the same as the state minimum wage. It may be subject to adjustment based on other criteria, such as the size of the business.
See tipped data learn more about tipped and non-tipped minimum wage in Arkansas.

What is the minimum wage in Arkansas in 2023?

Arkansas minimum wage in 2021: US$11 (effective January 1, 2021)

Arkansas minimum wage in 2020: US$10

Arkansas minimum wage in 2000: US$5.15 ($7.93 after inflation adjustment)

Arkansas minimum wage in 1980: US$2.55 ($8.54 after inflation adjustment)

People's Opinions on Minimum Wage in Arkansas

However, some Arkansas employees, such as domestic workers and employees of businesses with fewer than four employees, are exempt from the state's minimum wage requirements.

09/23/2021

Arkansas exempts casual domestic workers (like babysitters and caregivers), employees at small newspapers, Federal government employees, and some farm workers from the minimum wage.

09/17/2021

In addition to any Arkansas-specific minimum wage exemptions described above, the Federal Fair Labor Standards act defines special minimum wage rates applicable to certain types of workers.

09/09/2021

The most important thing to remember, though, is that when your cash wages and tips are combined, they equal out to the hourly minimum wage set by Arkansas State law.

08/31/2021

Several other states — Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, New Jersey and Rhode Island — are raising their minimum wages for non-tipped workers by one dollar per hour.

08/05/2021

From Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, which expected another 88,000 workers making slightly more than minimum wage to get a bump as employers pay more to keep them.

07/29/2021

Students performing services for any school, college or university in which they are enrolled and are regularly attending classes don’t need to be paid minimum wage in Arkansas.

07/26/2021

It’s a similar scaling increase that has been underway, or is about to begin, in states like Arizona, Arkansas and Florida, where voters in recent years have approved raising the minimum wage.

07/25/2021

While these are helpful guidelines to follow, make sure your business is prepared and stays in compliance, you should discuss Arkansas minimum wage laws with your accountant and lawyer.

07/22/2021

Republicans and business groups in Arkansas and Missouri have tried to derail efforts to get the minimum wage measures on the ballot, but both have managed to survive.

07/12/2021

Are you an HR manager or compensation specialist?

Salary.com's CompAnalyst platform offers:

  • Detailed skills and competency reports for specific positions
  • Job and employee pricing reports
  • Compensation data tools, salary structures, surveys and benchmarks.
Learn about CompAnalyst

Minimum Wage by State in 2023