Virginia Minimum Wage 2026: $12.77 Now, $13.75 on January 1, 2027

Virginia’s minimum wage is $12.77 an hour for 2026. The next two raises are already written into state law: $13.75 on January 1, 2027, and $15.00 on January 1, 2028 [1][2]. Unlike some states, Virginia’s rate doesn’t depend on the size of your employer.

How the rate is set

Each step in the law is “the greater of” the Virginia figure or the federal minimum wage, so the higher number always wins [2]. Starting in 2029, the Commissioner of Labor and Industry will set a new rate every year by October 1, raising it by the change in the CPI-U . The adjustment can’t be less than zero, so the rate can’t go down [2].

Tipped workers

A tipped employee in Virginia is someone who customarily and regularly gets more than $30 a month in tips [3]. For these workers, employers can pay a cash wage as low as $2.13 an hour and count up to $10.64 an hour of tips toward the minimum [4].

That only works if the math adds up. Cash wage plus tips must reach at least $12.77 for every hour you work [4]. If your real tips were lower than what your employer credited, Virginia law lets you show the actual amount, and the lower figure counts instead [3].

Who isn’t covered

Virginia’s minimum wage law has a list of workers it doesn’t cover. Among them [3]:

• people under 16, and minors working for a parent or guardian,
• students in a bona fide educational program, full-time students under 18 working 20 hours a week or less, and full-time students in work-study,
• outside salespeople paid on commission, and taxi drivers,
• golf caddies, summer camp workers, and babysitters working under 10 hours a week,
• au pairs in the State Department exchange program and certain temporary foreign workers,
• volunteers at charities, churches and nonprofits where there’s no real employment relationship.

Farm workers are on the list until January 1, 2027. From that date, the farm-worker exclusion is gone and farm workers are covered by the state minimum [3].

Training wage

Employers can pay a worker in a training program of up to 90 days the greater of the federal minimum wage or 75% of the Virginia rate [2].

If you’re paid less than you’re owed

You have two routes, and you can use either.

1. File a wage claim with the state. The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s Payment of Wage Unit takes claims from workers who weren’t paid wages they’re owed, including the minimum wage [1]. You can file online through the DOLI Portal, or mail a signed paper claim form; DOLI doesn’t accept faxed or emailed forms [1]. The state can investigate, subpoena records, and seek back wages and penalties for you [5].

2. Sue your employer. Virginia lets workers go to court directly, without filing with the state first [5]. If you win, you can recover:

• the unpaid wages,
• an equal amount on top as liquidated damages ,
• 8% yearly interest from the date the wages were due,
• reasonable attorney fees and costs [5].

If the court finds your employer knew it wasn’t paying you, the award is three times the wages owed, plus fees [5]. The deadline to sue is three years, and that clock pauses while a state wage claim is pending [5].

Other states

Comparing Virginia with its neighbors? See the minimum wage in every state on BestAmerica, and BestAmerica’s guide to the federal minimum wage.