North Carolina Minimum Wage Calculator

💡 North Carolina Wage Law Essentials

• Standard Minimum Rate: Under the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act (N.C.G.S. § 95-25.3), the statutory baseline minimum wage defaults to the federal standard of $7.25/hour.
• Municipal Preemption: North Carolina state law preempts local municipalities and county governments from establishing local minimum wage mandates.
• Tipped Minimum Cash Wage: Under N.C.G.S. § 95-25.3(f), employers may pay a direct cash wage of $2.13/hour and claim up to a $5.12/hour tip credit for eligible staff who regularly earn more than $20/month in tips.
• Tip Shortfall Guarantee: If cash pay ($2.13/hr) plus tips average less than $7.25/hr across all weekly hours worked, the employer must pay the shortfall.
• Youth & Student Rates: Employers may pay an opportunity training wage of $4.25/hour to workers under age 20 for their first 90 days. Full-time students may be paid 85% ($6.16/hour) with appropriate DOL certification.
• Overtime Pay: Non-exempt hours exceeding 40 per workweek must be paid at 1.5× regular pay. For tipped workers, the direct cash overtime rate is $(1.5 \times \text{Base Minimum Wage}) - \text{Tip Credit} = (1.5 \times \$7.25) - \$5.12 = \$10.875 - \$5.12 = \$5.755 \approx \$5.76/\text{hour}$.