Minimum Wage | NH Issue Brief - Citizens Count

New Hampshire state law requires the state minimum wage to be the same as the federal minimum wage. This means that New Hampshire’s current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.

There are some exceptions to that minimum for certain types of workers.

NH minimum wage for tipped workers

Workers who regularly get more than $30 per month in tips can be paid a lower minimum wage – 45% of whatever minimum wage applies to them. For most tipped workers, that comes to $3.27 per hour. If a worker can show that their pay plus tips adds up to less than the minimum wage for the hours they worked, their employer must make up the difference.

In 2021 Gov. Sununu signed a bill to freeze the tipped minimum wage at $3.27 per hour if the federal government raises the regular minimum wage.

Job training and student minimum wages

Workers with less than six months of experience in a job can be paid as low as $5.44 per hour if their employer gets approval from the New Hampshire Department of Labor.

Workers who are also full-time high school or college students can be paid a lower minimum wage—or even no wages at all— if they’re being employed to gain professional experience and their school or employer gets permission from the state.

Special minimum wages for disabled workers

Disabled workers may be paid less than the regular minimum wage, but only as part of an approved work training program.

Professions exempt from the minimum wage

Certain professions are exempt from the minimum wage law:

• household and domestic labor
• summer camp employees
• newsboys
• golf caddies
• commissioned sales employees
• some ski area employees
• children working for parents or grandparents
• spouses who work in support of their spouse’s business

Policies in other states

Many states have minimum wages set higher than the federal level.

Currently, New Hampshire is the only state in New England to use the federal minimum wage, with all other states in the region setting a higher rate.

Raising the minimum wage

There have been several recent efforts to increase the minimum wage in New Hampshire, but so far none have succeeded.

Minimum wage increases can take different forms. Some are a flat, one-time increase. Others involve a schedule of gradual increases. In some states, increases in the minimum wage are indexed. This means they rise automatically if a certain measure goes up such as the statewide median wage or the regional consumer price index.

Where do you stand on raising the minimum wage? Your legislators are debating this issue now. Find your reps and share your story with them.