---
title: "Server Minimum Wage in Delaware (2026)"
url: https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/delaware/server-wage
language: en
publisher: TipMax (Entermaurs Incorporated)
date_published: 2026-09-23
last_verified: 2026-09-23
---

# What’s the minimum wage for servers in Delaware?

**Short answer:** Delaware’s minimum wage is $15.00 an hour, but restaurants may pay servers a cash wage of only $2.23. The other $12.77 is a tip credit, meaning your tips are counted as part of your minimum wage. When cash wage plus tips for the week average less than $15.00 an hour, the employer has to make up the shortfall.

## Delaware at a glance

| Rule | Delaware | Federal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Minimum wage | $15.00 | Federal: $7.25 |
| Tipped cash wage (paid before tips) | $2.23 | Federal: $2.13 |
| Can tips count toward minimum wage? | Yes | DOL: Yes |

As of the U.S. Department of Labor table revised July 1, 2026. Your city may set a higher rate.

## What’s different in Delaware

In Delaware, what the employer pays and what the law guarantees sit far apart. The cash wage of $2.23 is barely above the federal $2.13, yet the full minimum is $15.00, so your tips carry most of the load.

In practice, your paycheck can look almost empty because tips already went home with you. That’s legal here. What isn’t legal is ending a week with less than $15.00 an hour once cash wage and tips are added together. You qualify as tipped under the same more-than-$30-a-month test the federal rules use.

BLS reported a median of $17.73 an hour for Delaware servers in May 2025. Employers estimate that number and it includes the tips they report, so it tells you about the market, not about your own week.

## Example shift

Say you work 6 hours and walk out with $120 in tips (illustrative numbers; use your own).

1. Wages: $2.23 × 6 = **$13.38**.
2. With tips: $13.38 + $120 = **$133.38**, or **$22.23 an hour**.
3. If your tips for the week don’t bring you to $15.00 an hour, federal law says your employer has to make up the difference.

**What servers earn:** BLS estimates the median hourly wage for waiters and waitresses in Delaware was **$17.73** in May 2025. BLS counts tips in this figure, but the numbers come from employers’ estimates.

Check your own week: https://www.tipmaxapp.com/tools/tipped-wage-check

## Official sources

- [U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum wages for tipped employees (state table)](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped)
- [U.S. Department of Labor: State minimum wage laws](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state)
- [BLS: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, waiters and waitresses (35-3031)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes353031.htm)
- [Delaware labor agency](https://labor.delaware.gov/)

## Last verified

September 23, 2026. Checked the U.S. Department of Labor state tables (revised July 1, 2026) and BLS OEWS May 2025.

## About TipMax

With Delaware letting employers count $12.77 of tips per hour, your own shift-by-shift tip record is the only way to check that you actually cleared $15.00.

TipMax is an iPhone app for servers and bartenders that tracks tips and tip-outs and turns a restaurant menu into study flashcards.

Download TipMax free: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tipmax-study-track-earn/id6744850146

---

TipMax Answers explains public government guidance on pay and workplace rules in plain English for tipped workers. It is **not legal, tax, or accounting advice**. Rules change and local rules can add to them. Confirm with the agency linked on this page or a qualified professional. TipMax the app helps you track tips and pay; it doesn’t enforce wage law or decide disputes.