Hawaii tipped minimum wage (2026)
Hawaii sets a tipped cash wage of $14.75/hr — above the federal $2.13 — with employers allowed to count up to $1.25/hr of your tips toward the $16.00/hr minimum.
Note: Tip credit is permissible only if the combined amount the employee receives from the employer and in tips is at least $7.00 more than the applicable minimum wage.
How Hawaii compares
At $14.75/hr, Hawaii ranks 3rd of the 47 states with a single published tipped cash wage. No other state pays tipped workers exactly $14.75/hr.
Tips have to cover 8% of your $16.00/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 $442.50 before tips, $378.60 more than the same week would guarantee under the federal $2.13 floor.
Nearest rates on either side: California at $16.90 and Alaska at $14.00.
Hawaii shares no land border with another state, so there is no neighbouring rate to cross into.
What's different about tipped work in Hawaii
That condition makes Hawaii's tip credit the narrowest in the country that still exists — $1.25 — and a slow shift wipes it out entirely.
Hawaii's $1.25 tip credit is conditional: an employer can only take it if the employee's cash wage plus tips comes to at least $7.00 above the minimum wage.
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 Hawaii 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 Hawaii?＋
Employers in Hawaii must pay tipped workers a cash wage of at least $14.75/hr, and tips must bring total pay to at least $16.00/hr. Figures as of July 1, 2026 (US DOL).
Can my Hawaii employer take a tip credit?＋
Yes, up to $1.25/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 Hawaii's wage rules built in. Free, no ads.
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