Arkansas Minimum Wage Calculator
Arkansas’s minimum wage is $11 per hour for covered employment, with the state law generally applying to employers with at least four employees. At 40 hours, that produces $440 gross per week and $22,880 over 52 weeks. An eligible tipped employee’s cash floor is $2.63, subject to the required tip-credit conditions.
Time card Calculate pay for a covered hourly job
Weekly gross including tips—
Confirm coverage to calculate.
- Hourly floor—
- Per workday—
- Weekly gross—
- Monthly average—
- Yearly gross—
- Employer cash before shortfall
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- Weekly tips retained
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- Employer shortfall payment
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- Total employer cash
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Overtime uses the full regular rate before subtracting a permitted tip credit. The employer must cover a weekly tip shortfall within the selected scope. This floor scenario does not calculate pay at a higher agreed rate. Per-workday pay divides the week by the days with hours. Annual figures repeat the rounded weekly result.
Reviewed rate period: 2026-01-01 through 2027-12-31. Gross earnings before taxes or deductions. Annual figures repeat this weekly scenario; they do not combine different rate periods.
Reviewed October 2, 2026. Arkansas labor agency rate and coverage guidance. The $11 rate took effect January 1, 2021; this worksheet’s reviewed horizon extends through December 2027.
Count the employer’s employees, not just coworkers on your shift
Under Arkansas’s current coverage rule, employees who are themselves exempt from the wage act still count toward the four-employee test. Related activities under common control can also matter even when they occur at different facilities. The test is for the workweek; a shift with only two people present is not by itself evidence of an exemption. 11 CAR § 11-601, current employer-coverage rule.
If the employer has fewer than four employees, federal coverage must be checked separately. The federal-only option uses $7.25 for an ordinary FLSA-covered job; it does not declare every small business covered. A job outside both laws cannot be assigned a statutory floor by this calculator.
Arkansas weekly pay examples
| Confirmed scenario | Employer cash before shortfall | Tips retained | Employer shortfall | Total gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State-covered, 40 hours | $440.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $440.00 |
| State-covered, 45 hours | $522.50 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $522.50 |
| State-covered tipped, 40 hours + $200 tips | $105.20 | $200.00 | $134.80 | $440.00 |
| State-covered tipped, 45 hours + $400 tips | $145.85 | $400.00 | $0.00 | $545.85 |
| Federal-only covered, 40 hours | $290.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $290.00 |
At the $11 floor, 45 hours comprise 40 hours at $11 and five at $16.50: $522.50 gross before tips or deductions. The 52-week estimate repeats the selected schedule and rate; it does not assume that every worker receives 52 paid weeks.
The $2.63 tipped cash wage does not cap employer responsibility
The state’s posted maximum gratuity allowance is $8.37 per hour. For a covered 40-hour tipped week, $105.20 cash plus $200 tips totals $305.20, so the employer must add $134.80 to reach $440. Keep that payment separate from tips when comparing a pay statement. Arkansas minimum-wage poster.
The worksheet assumes every entered hour is in the eligible tipped occupation, and that notice, records, and lawful tip retention or pooling have been confirmed. Work in a separate non-tipped occupation, service charges, and deductions need their own treatment. The federal-only option uses the federal $2.13 cash floor and $5.12 maximum credit instead of Arkansas’s state-covered figures. Federal tipped-worker conditions.
Overtime includes the applicable wage floor before the tip credit
Arkansas incorporates federal overtime-calculation rules through 11 CAR § 11-901. For the state-covered example at 45 hours, the $522.50 wage requirement less a permitted $376.65 tip credit leaves $145.85 in employer cash when retained tips are sufficient. At $400 tips, total gross is $545.85. Arkansas overtime-calculation rule; DOL regular-rate and tipped-overtime guidance.
Student certificates and exempt work are separate cases
Arkansas’s poster describes an 85% student rate only with a state certificate of eligibility and specified school-week and vacation-week hour limits. It is not a general discount for every student. Agricultural work, certain professional or administrative jobs, and other listed exemptions also require checking the actual duties and coverage. This tool models ordinary adult hourly work without those exceptions. Official coverage and student-rate summary.
Compare the workplace across state lines
A worker commuting from Arkansas should check the rules for the job’s location: Missouri minimum wage, Oklahoma minimum wage, Texas minimum wage, Louisiana minimum wage, Mississippi minimum wage or Tennessee minimum wage. Their minimum-wage coverage tests are not interchangeable with Arkansas’s four-employee rule.
All results are gross earnings before taxes or payroll deductions. Methodology · Sources · All states
Updated First published