What’s the minimum wage for servers in Hawaii?

Hawaii at a glance

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

What’s different in Hawaii

In Hawaii the tip credit comes with a test attached. DOL’s footnote says the credit is permissible only if your employer pay plus tips is “at least $7.00 more than the applicable minimum wage.” On a weak night that doesn’t happen, and the employer loses the right to pay you $14.75.

Even when the condition is met, the credit is tiny: $1.25 an hour, next to a federal system that starts servers at $2.13. Your cash wage stays close to the full minimum either way.

The DOL cell for Hawaii’s tipped-employee definition is blank, so the table doesn’t restate a monthly tips threshold for the state. BLS reported a median of $29.99 an hour for Hawaii servers in May 2025, and that figure is estimated by employers and includes tips they report, so it isn’t a measure of take-home pay.

Example shift

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

1. Wages: $14.75 × 6 = $88.50.
2. With tips: $88.50 + $120 = $208.50, or $34.75 an hour.
3. If your tips for the week don’t bring you to $16.00 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 Hawaii was $29.99 in May 2025. BLS counts tips in this figure, but the numbers come from employers’ estimates, so they may not reflect all the tips servers receive.

Check your own week: Am I being paid at least minimum wage?