Arizona Minimum Wage 2026: $15.15 an Hour, $15.65 in 2027

Arizona’s minimum wage for 2026 is $15.15 an hour [1]. It goes up every January with inflation, and the 2027 rate is already set at $15.65 [3]. Two cities, Flagstaff and Tucson, require more. Arizona workers also earn paid sick time, which many states don’t require.

How the rate is set

Arizona’s rate isn’t set by a yearly vote of the legislature. Since 2021, it goes up automatically each January 1 by the rise in the Consumer Price Index , rounded to the nearest five cents [4]. That’s why the rate moves to $15.65 on January 1, 2027 [3].

The Industrial Commission of Arizona publishes the new rate on the poster employers must display [3].

Tipped workers

If you customarily and regularly get tips, your employer can pay you up to $3.00 an hour less than the minimum wage in cash [4]. In 2026 that means at least $12.15 an hour in cash wages [2]. In 2027, with the rate at $15.65, the same $3.00 rule means at least $12.65 [3][4].

The condition: your cash wage plus your tips must add up to at least the full minimum for every hour worked, and the employer has to be able to show that from its records [4]. If tips fall short, the employer pays the difference.

Flagstaff and Tucson pay more

Flagstaff sets its own rate: $18.35 in 2026 and $18.95 from January 1, 2027. Every worker gets the full Flagstaff minimum, whether or not they earn tips [7].

Tucson’s rate is $15.45 in 2026 and $16.00 in 2027. It covers full-time, part-time and temporary workers who do at least 5 hours of work per pay cycle inside city limits. Employers can take a tip credit of no more than $3.00. State, federal and tribal employees aren’t covered [8].

Paid sick time

Arizona’s paid sick time law covers most workers. You earn at least 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked [5]. How much you can use each year depends on the size of the employer:

• 15 or more employees: the employer can cap earning and use at 40 hours a year [5].
• Fewer than 15 employees: the cap can be 24 hours a year [5].

Employers can always offer more. A new hire can be asked to wait until the 90th calendar day of the job before using sick time. Unused hours carry over to the next year, though the yearly use cap still applies; or the employer can pay out unused time at year-end and front-load the next year’s hours instead [5].

If you’re paid less than you’re owed

Start by asking your employer how your pay was figured; errors happen. If that doesn’t fix it:

• File a complaint with the Industrial Commission of Arizona. Anyone can file an administrative complaint about a minimum wage or sick time violation, and the employee’s name is kept confidential unless the employee agrees otherwise [6].
• File a lawsuit. You have 2 years from the last violation, or 3 years if it was willful [6]. An employer that underpaid owes the missing wages plus interest plus twice that amount again, and a winning worker gets reasonable attorney fees [6].
• In Flagstaff or Tucson, the city also takes complaints. Flagstaff’s Office of Labor Standards accepts a Complaint Declaration Form online, by mail or at City Hall [7]. Tucson’s Labor Standards Unit takes complaints online, at minimumwage@tucsonaz.gov or at (520) 791-5611 [8].

For a look at how Arizona’s rate compares with other states, see BestAmerica’s minimum wage by state guide.