Delaware tipped minimum wage (2026)
Delaware sets a tipped cash wage of $2.23/hr — above the federal $2.13 — with employers allowed to count up to $12.77/hr of your tips toward the $15.00/hr minimum.
How Delaware compares
At $2.23/hr, Delaware ranks 31st of the 47 states with a single published tipped cash wage. No other state pays tipped workers exactly $2.23/hr.
Tips have to cover 85% of your $15.00/hr minimum here. On a shift where they don't, the shortfall is your employer's to pay — but only if you can show what you actually made.
Thirty hours on the schedule guarantees $66.90 before tips, $3.00 more than the same week would guarantee under the federal $2.13 floor.
Nearest rates on either side: Wisconsin at $2.33 and Alabama at $2.13.
Cross a border and the base wage changes: New Jersey ($6.05), Maryland ($3.63), Pennsylvania ($2.83) pay more than Delaware. The widest gap is New Jersey, $3.82/hr higher — $114.60 a week on a 30-hour schedule, for the same job.
What's different about tipped work in Delaware
Delaware runs a $15.00 minimum against a $2.23 cash wage, a $12.77 tip credit. Only a dime of that cash wage separates it from the federal $2.13 that has not moved since 1991.
The number that actually matters
Official wage tables lean on reported pay and miss most cash tips, so your real hourly — cash plus card, minus tip-out — lives only in your own records. That's the number that tells you whether a shift was worth it, and the one you'll need at tax time.
Simulate a Delaware shift
Legal minimums are the floor. Enter a real shift — your actual hourly is what decides whether the night was worth it.
Federal tipped minimum cash wage is $2.13/hr — but many states require more, and if tips don't bring you to the full minimum wage ($7.25 federal), your employer must make up the difference. Enter your state's tipped minimum as the base wage for an accurate number.
Quick answers
What is the tipped minimum wage in Delaware?＋
Employers in Delaware must pay tipped workers a cash wage of at least $2.23/hr, and tips must bring total pay to at least $15.00/hr. Figures as of July 1, 2026 (US DOL).
Can my Delaware employer take a tip credit?＋
Yes, up to $12.77/hr — but only if your tips actually cover the gap. If they don't, the employer must make up the difference.
What if my tips don't reach the full minimum wage?＋
Federal law (FLSA) requires your employer to make up the difference whenever cash wage + tips falls below the applicable minimum wage for the pay period. Track every shift so you can prove a shortfall.
Source: U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division (July 1, 2026). Federal floor: $2.13 cash / $7.25 total. Not legal advice — local ordinances (city minimum wages) may set higher rates.
Compare with other states
Working out what a shift actually paid you? Run it through the tips-to-hourly calculator — base pay plus tips, minus tip-out, divided by the hours you really worked.
TipScan reads your checkout slip and computes your real hourly every shift — with Delaware's wage rules built in. Free, no ads.
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