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Ohio’s minimum wage will increase to $11.40 per hour for eligible nontipped employees on Jan. 1, 2027. Tipped employees will see their minimum direct wage rise from $5.50 to $5.70 per hour. The 3.5% increase is tied to inflation under Ohio’s annual minimum-wage adjustment. The business gross-receipts threshold will also increase to $420,000.
Ohio’s minimum wage will increase to $11.40 per hour for nontipped employees beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
The new Ohio minimum wage represents a 40-cent increase from the current $11 hourly rate.
The minimum wage for tipped employees will also rise, increasing from $5.50 to $5.70 per hour.
Ohio minimum wage rises 3.5%
The 2027 increase represents a 3.5% increase from the 2026 rates.
Ohio’s annual minimum wage adjustment is tied to inflation under a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2006. The adjustment uses the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the 12-month period ending in August.
The 2027 increase reflects the change in that index from Sept. 1, 2025, through Aug. 31, 2026.
Ohio’s minimum wage increased by 2.8% for 2026, when the rate reached $11 for nontipped employees and $5.50 for tipped workers.
Which Ohio workers are covered?
The $11.40 minimum wage will apply to employees at businesses with annual gross receipts of more than $420,000 beginning Jan. 1.
That threshold is increasing from $405,000 in 2026.
Employees at businesses with annual gross receipts of $420,000 or less will remain tied to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour under the state’s rules. The same federal rate applies to 14- and 15-year-old workers covered by the provision.
For tipped employees, employers can take a tip credit under Ohio law, but the employee’s wages plus qualifying tips must meet the applicable minimum-wage requirement.
What changes for Cincinnati workers?
The new rate will affect eligible minimum-wage workers throughout Cincinnati and the rest of Ohio.
For a worker paid the standard state minimum wage, the increase from $11 to $11.40 amounts to an additional $16 for a 40-hour workweek before taxes, assuming the employee works 40 hours at the minimum rate.
For tipped workers, the direct hourly rate will increase by 20 cents, from $5.50 to $5.70.
Employers will also need to use the state’s updated 2027 minimum-wage information when the new rates take effect.
Cincinnati has thousands of workers in lower-paid jobs
A precise count of Cincinnati workers who will receive a direct increase from the 2027 minimum wage adjustment is not available in the state’s announcement.
However, federal employment data show that lower-paying occupations make up a significant share of the Cincinnati-area workforce. Food preparation and serving occupations accounted for 9.6% of local employment in May 2025, while healthcare support occupations accounted for 3.9%.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an average hourly wage of $17.37 for food preparation and serving jobs and $19.98 for healthcare support jobs in the Cincinnati metropolitan area.
The Cincinnati metropolitan area includes Hamilton, Butler, Clermont and Warren counties in Ohio, along with counties in Northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana. The BLS data therefore cover a larger area than the city of Cincinnati itself. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Statewide, Policy Matters Ohio estimates that nearly 104,000 Ohio workers were paid the minimum wage in 2026, with another 169,000 workers earning slightly more potentially seeing indirect wage effects.
Those figures are statewide and should not be interpreted as a Cincinnati count.
FAQs
Why is Ohio’s minimum wage increasing?
Ohio’s Constitution requires the minimum wage to be adjusted annually based on inflation. The 2027 adjustment is based on the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the 12 months ending in August.
What is Ohio’s minimum wage for smaller businesses?
For employees at businesses with annual gross receipts of $420,000 or less, the applicable minimum wage remains tied to the federal rate of $7.25 per hour under Ohio’s rules.
How does Ohio determine its annual minimum wage?
The state uses an inflation-based formula tied to the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers. Ohio’s annual adjustment is required under a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2006.
