---
title: "Server Minimum Wage in Massachusetts (2026)"
url: https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/massachusetts/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 Massachusetts?

**Short answer:** Servers in Massachusetts must get at least $6.75 an hour in cash wages, and the state minimum wage is $15.00. The space between those two numbers is the tip credit. Your employer may count your tips toward it, but only when they actually fill it. If your tips come up short, the employer owes you the rest so each hour reaches $15.00.

## Massachusetts at a glance

| Rule | Massachusetts | Federal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Minimum wage | $15.00 | Federal: $7.25 |
| Tipped cash wage (paid before tips) | $6.75 | 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 Massachusetts

Both numbers sit well above the federal floor. Federal law lets an employer pay a tipped worker $2.13 in cash against a $7.25 minimum. Here the cash line on your pay stub starts at $6.75, which is money you get whether the dining room is packed or empty.

The bar for being treated as tipped is low. The DOL table lists the Massachusetts threshold as more than $20 in tips a month, so even someone who picks up a handful of tipped shifts can be paid at the $6.75 rate instead of the full $15.00.

For context, waiters and waitresses in the state had a median of $18.49 an hour in the May 2025 BLS survey. Employers supply that estimate and it folds in reported tips, so read it as a loose benchmark, not a promise about your own shifts.

## Example shift

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

1. Wages: $6.75 × 6 = **$40.50**.
2. With tips: $40.50 + $120 = **$160.50**, or **$26.75 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 Massachusetts was **$18.49** 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)
- [Massachusetts labor agency](https://www.mass.gov/orgs/executive-office-of-labor-and-workforce-development)

## 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

Massachusetts only lets your employer pay $6.75 an hour if tips carry every hour up to $15.00, and a shift-by-shift log of hours and tips is how you check that math yourself.

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

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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.