The New Jersey state minimum wage for 2024 is $15.13 per hour.
This is after it increased by $1.00 in January 2024, rising from $14.13 per hour in 2023 – representing a percentage increase of 7.08%.
Business owners in the US need to understand how the minimum wage works and what the minimum wage is for certain states, this will help with paying employees the correct and legal wage they’re entitled to.
Equally, it is important as an employee in New Jersey to know your rights and how much you should be being paid.
If you are a full-time worker on statewide minimum wage, your earnings could be as follows:
- Daily Minimum Wage: $121.04 (based on an 8-hour day).
- Weekly Minimum Wage: $605.20 (based on a 40-hour week).
- Monthly Minimum Wage: $2,622.53 (based on a full-time month).
- Yearly Minimum Wage: $31,470.40 (based on being paid 2080 hours per year).
The graphic below displays the New Jersey state minimum wage for 2024 and over the past several years.
As you can see, the minimum wage has been gradually increasing consistently for a while now:
How minimum wage increases are calculated in the state of New Jersey is through the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
CPI takes into account the cost of living and other important variables to decipher the fairest wage to be paying state employees.
New Jersey Minimum Wage Exemptions
In addition to the regular minimum wage rate, there are a few New Jersey state minimum wage exemptions that typically depend on your age or employment situation.
Below are all of the various minimum wage exemptions in detail with some situational examples.
New Jersey Student Minimum Wage
The minimum wage for student employees in New Jersey is 85% of the New Jersey minimum wage, making their hourly pay $12.86 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 New Jersey minimum wage rate of $15.13 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 New Jersey 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.
New Jersey Under 20 Minimum Wage
If you are under 20 years old in New Jersey, 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 New Jersey state minimum wage of $15.13 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.
New Jersey Tipped Minimum Wage
If you are a tipped employee in New Jersey (someone who receives regular tips as a part of their job) then you are eligible to be paid a minimum wage of $5.26 per hour, with a tip credit of $9.87 per hour, ensuring that you reach the statewide minimum wage regardless if you make enough hourly tips.
New Jersey Overtime Minimum Wage
Once you work over 40 hours in a working 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 New Jersey is $22.69 per hour, which is 1.5 times the minimum wage of $15.13 per hour.
New Jersey Minimum Wage Exemptions Due to Employment Type
In addition to the various minimum wage exemption rates above, there are some exemptions to the statewide minimum wage due to your employment type.
Below are the rest of the minimum wage exemptions for New Jersey employees:
- Employees working for nursing homes, boardwalks, and other seasonal amusements, summer camps, libraries, and small businesses. In 2024 the minimum wage for those working in these industries will be $12.50 per hour, and the rest of the state’s employees will be paid a minimum of $15.13 per hour.
New Jersey Minimum Wage History
The table below shows the current rate and history of New Jersey’s minimum wage over the past 40+ years since 1983.
You can see when there were increases in the minimum wage, how much they were, and what percentage increase it represents each year.
| Year | Minimum Wage | Increase ($) | Increase (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $14.13 | $1.13 | 8.69% |
| 2022 | $13.00 | $1.00 | 3.3% |
| 2021 | $12.00 | $1.00 | 9% |
| 2020 | $11.00 | $1.00 | 10% |
| 2019 | $10.00 | $1.40 | 16.3% |
| 2018 | $8.60 | $0.16 | 1.9% |
| 2017 | $8.44 | $0.06 | 0.7% |
| 2016 | $8.38 | $0 | 0% |
| 2015 | $8.38 | $0.13 | 1.6% |
| 2014 | $8.25 | $1.00 | 13.8% |
| 2013 | $7.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 2012 | $7.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 2011 | $7.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 2010 | $7.25 | $0 | 0% |
| 2009 | $7.25 | $0.10 | 1.4% |
| 2008 | $7.15 | $0 | 0% |
| 2007 | $7.15 | $0 | 0% |
| 2006 | $7.15 | $1.00 | 16.2% |
| 2005 | $6.15 | $1.00 | 19.4% |
| 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 | $0.10 | 1.9% |
| 1998 | $5.05 | $0 | 0% |
| 1997 | $5.05 | $0 | 0% |
| 1996 | $5.05 | $0 | 0% |
| 1995 | $5.05 | $0 | 0% |
| 1994 | $5.05 | $0 | 0% |
| 1993 | $5.05 | $0 | 0% |
| 1992 | $5.05 | $0.90 | 18.8% |
| 1991 | $4.25 | $0.45 | 11.8% |
| 1990 | $3.80 | $0.45 | 13.4% |
| 1989 | $3.35 | $0 | 0% |
| 1988 | $3.35 | $0 | 0% |
| 1987 | $3.35 | $0 | 0% |
| 1986 | $3.35 | $0 | 0% |
| 1985 | $3.35 | $0 | 0% |
| 1984 | $3.35 | $0 | 0% |
| 1983 | $3.35 | $0 | 0% |
New Jersey Labor Law Poster and Department of Labor and Workforce Development Contact Details
As a New Jersey employer, you need to keep yourself compliant with the law. To do this, you need to display a New Jersey Labor Law poster in a prominent place.
The good news is that you can acquire one of these posters for free from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development website, and download the poster in English, and several other languages.
If you wish to contact the department directly, here are all of the contact details you need:
Department of Labor and Workforce Development
1st Floor, 171 Jersey St Building 5,
Trenton, NJ 08611
Telephone: (609) 292-7060
Email: pwcr@dol.nj.gov
