In 2024, the West Virginia minimum wage finally increased after several years of the same minimum wage rate to $11.00 per hour!
For business owners, managers, and employees, it is important to know what you are legally obligated to pay your employees or be paid yourself.
Most states in the US have different laws, rules, and regulations when it comes to the minimum wage. Let’s look at the West Virginia state minimum wage.
This page will help keep you updated on the West Virginia minimum wage in 2024 and the exceptions that apply to different job sectors and industries.
West Virginia is one of many states that has a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum wage, and, recently, the minimum wage in Virginia, West Virginia’s geographical neighbor, increased considerably from the $7.25 per hour that it was for over a decade.
Take a look at our page on the Virginia minimum wage to see what the current rate is.
The West Virginia state minimum wage is calculated through the Consumer Price Index, which takes into account the cost of living, house pricing, and inflation within the state.
The graphic below highlights the West Virginia minimum wage over the past several years. As you can see – the minimum wage increased from $8.75 to $11.00 per hour in 2024.
If you are a full-time worker on minimum wage in West Virginia, your earnings could be as follows:
- Daily Minimum Wage: $88.00 (based on an 8-hour working day).
- Weekly Minimum Wage: $440.00 (based on a 40-hour week).
- Yearly Minimum Wage: $22,880.00 (based on being paid 2080 per year).
You can view and download the West Virginia minimum wage labor law poster for 2024 here at no charge. Employers must display an official poster outlining the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), ensuring that accurate employee time and pay records are kept.
If you have any questions regarding the West Virginia state minimum wage, visit the Division of Labor website. They operate under the umbrella of the Department of Commerce and are a multi-faceted and diverse agency that assists every business, consumer, employee, and resident in West Virginia.
Many programs operated by the Division are performed in the background and are nearly invisible to the public. Businesses, consumers, employees, and residents benefit from the activities of the Division. You can also check back on this page often as this content will be constantly updated, giving you the most up-to-date West Virginia state minimum wage.
West Virginia Minimum Wage History
The table below shows the current rate and history of West Virginia’s minimum wage over the past 40+ years since 1983.
You can see when there were increases in the minimum wage, how much they were, and what percentage increase it represents each year.
| Year | Minimum Wage | Increase ($) | Increase (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $11.00 | $0.75 | 7.3% |
| 2023 | $10.25 | $1.50 | 17.4% |
| 2022 | $8.75 | $0 | 0% |
| 2021 | $8.75 | $0 | 0% |
| 2020 | $8.75 | $0 | 0% |
| 2019 | $8.75 | $0 | 0% |
| 2018 | $8.75 | $0 | 0% |
| 2017 | $8.75 | $0 | 0% |
| 2016 | $8.75 | $0.75 | 9.3% |
| 2015 | $8.00 | $0.75 | 10.3% |
| 2014 | $7.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 2013 | $7.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 2012 | $7.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 2011 | $7.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 2010 | $7.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 2009 | $7.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 2008 | $7.25 | $0.70 | 10.68% |
| 2007 | $6.55 | $0.70 | 11.96% |
| 2006 | $5.85 | $0.70 | 13.59% |
| 2005 | $5.15 | $0 | 0% |
| 2004 | $5.15 | $0 | 0% |
| 2003 | $5.15 | $0 | 0% |
| 2002 | $5.15 | $0 | 0% |
| 2001 | $5.15 | $0 | 0% |
| 2000 | $5.15 | $0 | 0% |
| 1999 | $5.15 | $0 | 0% |
| 1998 | $5.15 | $0.40 | 8.42% |
| 1997 | $4.75 | $0.50 | 11.76% |
| 1996 | $4.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 1995 | $4.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 1994 | $4.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 1993 | $4.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 1992 | $4.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 1991 | $4.25 | $0.45 | 11.84% |
| 1990 | $3.80 | $0.45 | 13.43% |
| 1989 | $3.35 | $0 | 0% |
| 1988 | $3.35 | $0 | 0% |
| 1987 | $3.35 | $0.30 | 9.83% |
| 1986 | $3.05 | $0 | 0% |
| 1985 | $3.05 | $0 | 0% |
| 1984 | $3.05 | $0 | 0% |
| 1983 | $3.05 | $0 | 0% |
West Virginia Minimum Wage Exemptions
In addition to the regular minimum wage rate, there are a few West Virginia state minimum wage exemptions that typically depend on your age or employment situation. Below are the various minimum wage exemptions with some situational examples.
West Virginia Student Minimum Wage
The minimum wage for student employees in West Virginia is 85% of the West Virginia minimum wage, making their hourly pay $9.35 per hour in 2024.
This hourly rate is for any hours worked up to 20 hours per week. As a student employee, once you surpass 20 hours per week, you will be eligible for the West Virginia state minimum wage rate of $11.00 per hour.
Being a student can be financially challenging, leading many students to pick up part-time jobs to make extra money while studying. Despite a student minimum wage rate, many West Virginia employers will not necessarily follow it and pay you equal to or more than the statewide minimum wage.
Many work-study programs are available at universities, which is a route many students go down. Still, coffee shop, cafe, bar, and restaurant jobs are commonly taken by students as they can work them into their class schedule.
West Virginia Under 20 Minimum Wage
If you are under 20 years old in West Virginia, federal law allows your employer to pay you as little as $4.25 per hour for your first 90 days of employment.
Once the 90-day period is over, you will be eligible to be paid the 2024 West Virginia state minimum wage of $11.00 per hour or potentially even more.
Fortunately for young workers, this is 90 calendar days and not 90 working days; therefore, it can be completed relatively quickly and within about three months.
West Virginia Tipped Minimum Wage
If you are a tipped employee in West Virginia (someone who receives regular tips as a part of their job) then you are eligible to be paid a minimum wage of $2.62 per hour, with a tip credit of $8.38 per hour, ensuring that you reach the statewide minimum wage regardless if you make enough hourly tips.
West Virginia Overtime Minimum Wage
Once you work over 40 hours a week, you are eligible to be paid an overtime rate of 1.5 times your hourly wage for every hour you work past 40.
So, the overtime minimum wage in West Virginia is $16.50 per hour, 1.5 times the minimum wage of $11.00 per hour.
West Virginia Server Minimum Wage
If you work as a server in West Virginia or would like to get into the industry, then you should be aware of what the minimum wage is for servers in West Virginia to ensure you are being paid the correct amount, or whether this is a job you would like to do.
The West Virginia server minimum wage rate in 2024 is $2.62 per hour.
The laws surrounding the West Virginia minimum wage for servers act as a safety net for those who may not earn enough in tips to meet the minimum wage threshold in the state.
Servers are the lifeblood of the hospitality industry and they serve their customers with food and beverages in a restaurant or similar type of business where food and drinks are delivered to the table. As part of providing this service, a server will typically receive tips (gratuities) for doing so.
West Virginia servers tend to rely far less on their low hourly tipped minimum wage and more on the generosity of the guests they serve for their paycheck each week.
What is the Server Minimum Wage in West Virginia for 2024
What is the true minimum wage for a server in West Virginia? The minimum cash wage for servers in West Virginia is $2.62 per hour which is the same as the tipped minimum wage in West Virginia. This is the minimum per hour that a West Virginia server must be paid and that a West Virginia employer must pay its servers.
As you can see from the following graphic, the minimum wage for servers in West Virginia has not been changing over the past several years. However, the tip credit has been, head further down the page to find out more information regarding the tip credit for servers in West Virginia.
Minimum Cash Wage and Tip Credits
$2.62 per hour is not much to be paid an hour, but if a server’s tips are not sufficient West Virginia law requires that servers must be supplemented by their employers via “tipped credit”, which is, in West Virginia’s case, $8.38 per hour, making the server minimum wage in West Virginia a total of $11.00 per hour.
The regular minimum wage in West Virginia for all types of employees does not follow the federal minimum wage guidelines that have been in their current form since 2008. Instead, West Virginia has its own unique minimum wage rate that is calculated via the consumer price index and general inflation within the state.
Based on the tipped minimum wage laws that apply to all states, West Virginia employers are required to pay their employees an hourly minimum cash wage with the addition of tip credits. What tipped credits allow employers to do is pay tipped employees less than the minimum wage so long as they can make up at least the difference via tips per hour during each working week.
Tip credit not only allows server employees to be paid less than the minimum hourly wage, but it is also the same concept with bartenders, hotel workers, airport attendants, other workers in the hospitality industry, and most other roles where tips are the primary income for the employee.
In West Virginia, servers must be paid a base minimum cash wage of $2.62 per hour. The expectation is that West Virginia servers will make at least an additional $8.38 per hour in tips on average across a working week, and if they do, then the employer is only obligated to pay a West Virginia server $2.62 per hour.
Let’s assume that a server in West Virginia does not make at least $8.38 per hour in tips as an average over a working week, then the employer must step in and pay the West Virginia server a tip credit of up to $8.38 per hour, so the server makes a minimum of $11.00 per hour for the working week.
