Iowa tipped minimum wage (2026)
Iowa sets a tipped cash wage of $4.35/hr — above the federal $2.13 — with employers allowed to count up to $2.90/hr of your tips toward the $7.25/hr minimum.
Note: Maximum tip credit is 40% of the applicable minimum wage.
How Iowa compares
At $4.35/hr, Iowa ranks 21st of the 47 states with a single published tipped cash wage. No other state pays tipped workers exactly $4.35/hr.
Tips have to cover 40% of your $7.25/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 $130.50 before tips, $66.60 more than the same week would guarantee under the federal $2.13 floor.
Nearest rates on either side: North Dakota at $4.86 and Rhode Island at $3.89.
Cross a border and the base wage changes: Minnesota ($11.41), Illinois ($9.00), Missouri ($7.50), South Dakota ($5.93) pay more than Iowa. The widest gap is Minnesota, $7.06/hr higher — $211.80 a week on a 30-hour schedule, for the same job.
What's different about tipped work in Iowa
Iowa caps the tip credit at 40% of the minimum wage rather than a fixed dollar amount, which leaves a $4.35 cash wage — more than double the federal $2.13, on the same $7.25 floor.
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 Iowa 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 Iowa?＋
Employers in Iowa must pay tipped workers a cash wage of at least $4.35/hr, and tips must bring total pay to at least $7.25/hr. Figures as of July 1, 2026 (US DOL).
Can my Iowa employer take a tip credit?＋
Yes, up to $2.90/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 Iowa's wage rules built in. Free, no ads.
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