What is the minimum wage in Delaware in 2025?

Delaware's minimum wage is $15.00 per hour, effective January 1, 2025. This was the final step in a phased increase enacted by the Delaware legislature in 2019, which raised the rate from $9.25/hr in stages over six years. The rate applies to most employees working in the state.

How does Delaware's minimum wage compare to the federal minimum?

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and has not changed since 2009. Delaware's $15.00/hr rate is more than double the federal floor. Under federal law, when a state sets a higher minimum wage, employers must pay the higher state rate — so Delaware workers are entitled to $15.00/hr regardless of what the federal law says.

How is overtime calculated in Delaware?

Delaware follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for overtime. Any hours worked beyond 40 in a single workweek must be paid at 1.5 times the employee's regular hourly rate. For a worker earning exactly the $15.00 Delaware minimum, overtime hours are paid at $22.50/hr. This calculator applies that multiplier automatically to any hours you enter above 40.

Are there any exceptions to Delaware's $15.00 minimum wage?

Yes. Tipped employees may be paid a lower cash wage of $2.23/hr, provided that tips bring their total hourly compensation to at least $15.00 — the employer must make up the difference if tips fall short. A youth or training wage of $10.50/hr may apply to workers under 18 during the first 90 days of employment. Agricultural and some seasonal workers may also have different rules. This calculator uses the standard adult rate for non-tipped employees.

Does this calculator include taxes?

No. All figures shown are gross pay — the amount before any deductions. In practice, you would subtract federal income tax withholding, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), and Delaware state income tax (which ranges from 0% to 6.6% depending on income) to arrive at your take-home pay. Tax withholding depends on your W-4 filing status, so a gross-pay calculator gives the clearest starting point.

Will Delaware's minimum wage increase again after $15.00?

The 2019 law set $15.00/hr as its terminal rate with no automatic indexing. Any future increases would require new legislation. Bills to index the wage to inflation have been discussed in the Delaware General Assembly but have not been signed into law as of mid-2026. Check the Delaware Department of Labor website for the latest updates.

Delaware Minimum Wage Calculator

The Delaware minimum wage calculator gives you an instant breakdown of your gross weekly, monthly and annual earnings based on any hourly rate — starting from Delaware’s current legal minimum of $15.00 per hour — and handles FLSA overtime at 1.5x for any hours you work beyond 40 in a week.

How it works

Enter your hourly wage (the tool pre-loads Delaware’s $15.00 minimum) and the number of hours you work each week. The calculator then:

Splits your hours into regular time (up to 40 hours) and overtime (anything above 40).
Multiplies regular hours by your wage and overtime hours by 1.5 times your wage, then adds both to get your weekly gross.
Converts weekly gross to monthly gross using the standard 52-week-year conversion (weekly × 52 ÷ 12).
Multiplies weekly gross by 52 for your annual gross.
Shows a side-by-side comparison against the federal minimum of $7.25/hr, so you can see exactly how much extra annual income Delaware’s higher minimum puts in your pocket.

All arithmetic runs entirely in your browser — nothing is sent to any server.

Worked example

Say you work 45 hours a week at Delaware’s minimum of $15.00/hr:

Component	Calculation	Amount
Regular pay (40 hrs)	40 × $15.00	$600.00
Overtime pay (5 hrs)	5 × $22.50	$112.50
Weekly gross		$712.50
Monthly gross	$712.50 × 52 ÷ 12	$3,087.50
Annual gross	$712.50 × 52	$37,050.00

Compare that to the federal minimum at the same hours: a worker in a state that only follows the federal $7.25/hr floor would earn $17,907.50 per year — roughly $19,142.50 less than a Delaware worker working identical hours. That gap illustrates why state minimum wages matter so much to low-wage earners.

About Delaware’s minimum wage

Delaware’s $15.00 per hour minimum wage is the result of a phased increase law passed by the Delaware General Assembly and signed in 2019. The rate climbed from $9.25 in 2019 through six annual steps, reaching the $15.00 terminal rate on January 1, 2025. The law applies to most private-sector employees working in the state. Special rates exist for tipped workers ($2.23/hr cash wage, with tips required to bring total pay to at least $15.00) and, in some cases, for workers under 18 during a brief training window.

Overtime rules in Delaware are governed by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Hours over 40 in a workweek must be paid at a rate of at least 1.5 times the regular hourly rate — so a minimum-wage worker earns $22.50 per overtime hour.

Use this tool to plan a budget, evaluate a job offer, check whether a posted salary meets minimum-wage requirements, or simply understand how hours and overtime interact with your pay. All figures are gross pay only; deduct taxes separately.