Minimum wage in Chile 2026: CLP 553,553 a month

Three amounts under Ley 21.830

The law sets CLP 553,553 a month for workers aged 18 to 65 and CLP 412,938 for workers under 18 or over 65. A third figure, CLP 356,815, is used for non-remuneration purposes, meaning legal references that are not pay, and is not a pay rate. The rate is national; there are no regional minimums.

Older sources still show CLP 539,000, the rate from January 1, 2026 under Ley 21.751. That figure was superseded on May 1, 2026; check that your payroll system picked up the change.

Other minimum wage rates in Chile

Chile minimum wage history

Back pay for May and June, and what happens in 2027

Ley 21.830 was published on June 22, 2026 but took effect from May 1, so employers who paid CLP 539,000 for May and June owed the difference, CLP 14,553 a month. Next, from January 1, 2027 the 18 to 65 rate rises by cumulative CPI from May 1 to December 31, 2026, as reported by INE; the exact amount is set by decree by January 15, 2027. The law also requires the President to send a new readjustment bill by June 2027 to apply from July 1, 2027. Since 2022, when the rate reached CLP 400,000, it has risen 38.39%.

Hourly equivalent and the shorter work week

The law states only a monthly amount. Chile's standard work week fell to 42 hours on April 26, 2026 (Ley 21.561) and will fall to 40 hours on April 26, 2028. As a rough guide, 42 hours x 52 weeks / 12 = 182 hours a month, so CLP 553,553 / 182 = CLP 3,041.50 an hour (about $3.13). The hourly value rises again in 2028 when the same monthly minimum covers fewer hours. A full year at the minimum is 553,553 x 12 = CLP 6,642,636 before the January update.

Employer contributions from the pension reform

Under the pension reform (Ley 21.735), employers now pay their own pension contribution, which stepped up in August 2026 to 3.5%: 0.1% to the worker's individual account, 1.0% to the life expectancy social insurance, 0.9% protected return and 1.5% disability and survivor insurance (SIS). At the minimum wage that is 553,553 x 3.5% = CLP 19,374.36 a month (about $19.91).

The rate keeps rising: 4.25% from August 2027, then 5.0%, 5.7%, 6.4%, 7.1% and 7.8% in the following years, reaching 8.5% in August 2033. At today's minimum wage, 8.5% would be CLP 47,052.01 a month. Unemployment insurance and the work-accident mutual are extra; their rates are not confirmed in our data. Average pay is on the Chile average salary page.

Employing in Chile from the US

Without a Chilean entity, an employer of record can hire on a local contract and handle AFP, health and unemployment insurance filings. Published monthly EOR fees per worker run from $99 at the low end, at Native Teams (its help center says EUR 99), to $699 (checked October 2026). Deel lists $599, slightly more than the dollar value of the monthly minimum wage itself. Read the Chile employer of record guide, compare providers in our EOR rankings, and see how Chile compares with Argentina and Peru in the employer cost index.