Minimum Wage
Ordinance: SMC 14.19 Rules: SHRR Chapter 90
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. The minimum wage for the 2024 calendar years for large and small employers is set forth in the table below:
2024 Minimum Wage
For Large Employers (501 or more employees)
| $19.97/hour |
For Small Employers (500 or fewer employees)
Does employer pay $2.72/hour toward medical benefits and/or does employee earn $2.72/hour in tips?
| No | Yes |
| $19.97/hour | $17.25/hour |
OLS will announce the minimum wage for 2025 in the Fall. Starting in 2025, all employers, regardless of size, will pay one minimum wage. Like Large Employers, small employers will no longer be able to apply customer tips or payments towards medical benefits to their minimum wage obligations.
Every year Seattle's Minimum Wage increases on January 1. OLS announces the upcoming year's minimum wage increase by the fall of each year. For large employers, 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). For small employers, the minimum wage increase follows a schedule established by the minimum wage ordinance, as outlined in the multi-year chart.