Missouri Minimum Wage After Tax 2026

Missouri Minimum Wage After Tax in 2026

A full-time Missouri worker at $15.00 an hour grosses $31,200 a year. After $1,564 in federal income tax, $2,387 in FICA and $530 in state income tax, take-home pay is about $26,719 a year, or $2,227 a month and $514 a week.

Missouri voters set the wage schedule through Prop B (2018). The 2026 rate is $15.00/hr statewide. Tipped wage: $6.875/hr (50% of minimum). Calculate your exact take-home pay below.

Missouri Minimum Wage 2026: Prop B's Legacy and the Kansas City-St. Louis Divide

Missouri's minimum wage path is a story of voter-driven policy overriding legislative inaction. In 2018, Missouri voters approved Proposition B by a margin of 62% to 38%, establishing a schedule of annual $0.85 increases starting from $8.60 in 2019 through $15.00 in 2023 -- with subsequent CPI indexing thereafter. As of January 1, 2026, Missouri's minimum wage stands at $15.00 per hour, continuing the schedule toward $15.00.

Prop B's Schedule to $15.00

The Prop B schedule set by Missouri voters created predictable, incremental increases:

Note: Separate ballot measures and CPI adjustments have modified the exact pace from the original Prop B schedule. The current trajectory continues to move toward $15.00, with the schedule subject to verification through the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations for each specific year.

Kansas City and St. Louis: Local Minimums Above the State Rate

Both Kansas City and St. Louis have pursued higher local minimum wages, though the legal history of local wage ordinances in Missouri has been complex. Missouri passed a law in 2017 preempting local minimum wages, which struck down St. Louis's $10.00 city ordinance. However, subsequent legal challenges and new ballot initiatives have reopened the door to local wage floors in some contexts. As of 2026, Kansas City has enacted its own minimum wage ordinance above the state floor -- workers in Kansas City should verify the current city rate with the Kansas City Office of Equal Opportunity, as it may exceed the $15.00 state minimum.

Tipped Minimum Wage: 50% of the Standard Rate

Missouri's tipped minimum wage is exactly 50% of the standard minimum wage -- in 2026, that is $6.875 per hour. This formula means the tipped wage adjusts automatically whenever the standard minimum wage changes, providing predictability for both employers and tipped workers. Employers may take a tip credit of $6.875 per hour, but must ensure that total hourly compensation from direct wages plus tips meets or exceeds $15.00 per hour averaged over each workweek. If tips are insufficient, the employer must make up the difference in the employee's paycheck for that week.

The Kansas Border Worker Comparison

Kansas City straddles the Missouri-Kansas state line, and the minimum wage difference between the two states is noteworthy. Kansas has not raised its state minimum wage above the federal $7.25 per hour, meaning workers employed in Kansas at minimum wage earn significantly less than those employed in Missouri. For workers in the Kansas City metro area who can choose between employers on either side of the state line, Missouri's $15.00 rate represents a nearly 90% wage advantage over the Kansas state minimum. This differential influences where entry-level workers seek employment in the metro area, and employers in the Kansas portion of the metro face recruitment competition from Missouri employers who offer higher mandatory minimum wages.

Hospitality and Manufacturing Industries

Missouri's economy is diverse, with healthcare and education dominant in St. Louis, financial services and logistics in Kansas City, and manufacturing spread throughout the state. The food processing and agricultural manufacturing sector -- significant in mid-Missouri and the Bootheel region -- employs large numbers of minimum wage workers. Tourism in the Ozarks, Lake of the Ozarks resort area, and Gateway Arch area of St. Louis rounds out the minimum wage employment landscape.

Missouri State Income Tax

Missouri has a progressive income tax with the top rate of 4.70% applying to income above $9,072. At the $28,600 gross income of a full-time minimum wage worker, most of the taxable income after Missouri's standard deduction falls in the 4.70% bracket. Missouri's income tax is moderate among Midwestern states, providing a reasonable after-tax environment for minimum wage workers relative to states with higher rates.

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