Last checked October 29, 2026.
Montana’s minimum wage is $10.85 an hour in 2026 and rises to $11.20 on January 1, 2027. It applies statewide: no Montana city or county sets its own minimum, and tipped workers must get the full rate.
| Year | Hourly | Full-time yearly (2,080 hours) |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 (from Jan 1) | $11.20 | $23,296 |
| 2026 | $10.85 | $22,568 |
Source: Montana Department of Labor and Industry; 2027 rate from the determination letter dated October 7, 2026.
How the yearly increase works
Montana law ties the minimum wage to inflation. Each year the Department of Labor and Industry applies the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) and rounds to the nearest 5 cents, then announces the new rate by September 30 (the 2027 letter came October 7). For 2027 the index rose 3.40%: $10.85 × 1.034 = $11.22, rounded to $11.20. If prices don’t rise, the wage stays put; it never goes down.
No tip credit
Unlike federal law and many states, Montana doesn’t let employers count tips toward the minimum wage. Servers and bartenders get at least $10.85 an hour in cash wages in 2026, plus their tips.
What a minimum-wage job covers in Montana
A full-time job at $10.85 pays $22,568 a year. After federal tax, Montana tax ($304) and Social Security and Medicare, that leaves about $19,890, or roughly $1,660 a month. That’s below the average 1-bedroom asking rent alone in Bozeman, and well short of a full budget in any of Montana’s larger towns:
| Town | Income needed, own 1-bedroom (full budget) | Hourly equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Billings | $46,744 | $22.47 |
| Great Falls | $47,457 | $22.82 |
| Missoula | $49,760 | $23.92 |
| Kalispell | $50,089 | $24.08 |
| Helena | $51,222 | $24.63 |
| Bozeman | $60,325 | $29.00 |
Our calculation, using the default budget in the salary calculator: a single adult with a paid-off car, saving 10% of pay. Sharing a 2-bedroom lowers the figure by about $7,400 to $15,500 depending on the town.
Numbers that are out of date online
- $10.55: the 2025 rate.
- “$10.55 in 2026”: some sites still list this. The 2026 rate is $10.85.
- “The 2027 rate hasn’t been announced”: it was set at $11.20 in October 2026.