Minimum Wage in Alaska
Alaska (AK) · Minimum wage · Last reviewed September 2026
Alaska minimum
$14.00 / hr
Federal floor
$7.25 / hour
As of
September 2026
Federal vs. State Minimum Wage
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and has been since July 2009. When a state (or city) sets a higher minimum, the higher rate is what employers must pay. When the state rate is lower or nonexistent, the federal $7.25 applies to employees covered by the FLSA.
As of September 2026, the Alaska (AK) minimum wage is about $14.00 per hour, above the federal $7.25. Rates are revisited regularly (often each January), so confirm the current figure with the official source below before you run payroll.
Most Alaska employers follow the state rate, but always confirm whether any local ordinance sets a higher minimum where you operate.
Tipped Employees
Tipped workers can be paid a lower cash wage as long as tips bring them up to at least the full applicable minimum wage. The federal tipped cash wage is $2.13 per hour, but many states require a higher tipped wage, and a few require the full minimum with no tip credit. Alaska employers should verify the tipped rules that apply locally.
Staying Compliant
Because minimum-wage rates change and can differ by city, the safest approach is to check the official rate at the start of each year and whenever you hire in a new locality. Keep accurate time records so you can always show that pay met or exceeded the minimum for every hour worked.
What $14.00 an Hour Actually Comes to in Alaska
At $14.00 an hour, a 40-hour week is $560.00 before deductions, which is roughly $29,120 a year for someone working full time all year. A 30-hour week comes to $420.00, and a 20-hour week to $280.00.
Alaska sets its own rate above the federal $7.25, and where a state and the federal government disagree the higher figure governs. A city ordinance can raise it again, so an employer with sites in more than one city can owe different minimums to people doing identical work.
Minimum wage is a floor on the regular rate, not on the paycheck. Deductions for uniforms, tools or till shortages cannot legally push someone below it, which is where most minimum-wage claims actually originate rather than in the headline rate.
Alaska Labor-Law Snapshot
Alaska's minimum wage is $14.00/hour (about $6.75 above the federal $7.25). At that rate, overtime runs about $21.00/hour, and Alaska does not allow a tip credit, so tipped staff earn the full $14.00 before tips.
For Alaska employers these rules interact with timekeeping: accurate, audit-logged hours drive overtime, sick-leave accrual, final pay, and break records. Alaska sets no statewide meal-break requirement and does not mandate paid rest breaks; a final paycheck is due by the next regular payday at least 3 days after the employee gives notice when an employee resigns. Confirm current Alaska figures with the state labor office before relying on any single number.
What Alaska Employers Should Keep on File
Federal law requires employers to keep payroll records for at least three years, and the records used to calculate pay, such as time cards and work schedules, for at least two. Several states require longer. The practical standard is simple: if a former employee filed a claim tomorrow, could you evidence every hour you paid and every hour you did not?
The records that matter are the daily start and end times, the total hours for each workweek, the regular rate and any premium, all additions and deductions, and the pay period the payment covers. Keeping the underlying punches matters more than keeping the summary, because a total nobody can trace back is not evidence.
Where the record is missing or unreliable, the employee's reasonable recollection is generally accepted, and the employer carries the burden of disproving it. That is the single strongest argument for an automatic time clock over a paper sheet reconstructed at the end of the week.
Free calculators for this
Salary to Hourly Calculator
Convert an annual salary to an hourly rate, and an hourly rate back to salary.
Overtime Pay Calculator
Time-and-a-half and double-time from an hourly rate and the hours worked.
Time Card Calculator
Add up a week of clock-in and clock-out times, minus unpaid breaks, in decimal hours.
All of them run in your browser, with no signup. See all nine calculators.
Official Sources
More Alaska Guides
Minimum Wage in Other States
Alaska Minimum Wage: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum wage in Alaska?
As of September 2026, the minimum wage in Alaska is about $14.00 per hour, above the federal $7.25. Confirm the current figure before running payroll, as rates change.
Can Alaska employers pay tipped workers a lower wage?
Yes, a lower cash wage is allowed as long as tips bring the employee up to the full applicable minimum wage. Some states require a higher tipped cash wage.
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