Illinois minimum wage in 2026 (and 2027)

Who the $15.00 rate covers

The state rate applies to employers with four or more employees. Smaller employers are outside the $15.00 rate; if the federal Fair Labor Standards Act covers them, the federal $7.25 applies. Check whether the FLSA covers you before assuming any lower rate.

Tipped workers can be paid $9.00 an hour in cash, because Illinois allows a tip credit of 40% of the minimum wage ($6.00 an hour). Tips must bring total pay to at least $15.00, or you cover the gap.

Chicago and Cook County rates

Two local governments have their own minimum wage ordinances. The City of Chicago sets its own rates by employer size, which rise each July 1 by the lower of inflation or 2.5%, and it has been phasing out the tip credit. The city page we read still shows only the July 1, 2023 rates ($15.80 for employers with 21 or more workers, $15.00 for 4 to 20). Cook County also has an ordinance, which many suburbs have opted out of, but the county's pages could not be read, so we could not confirm its rate or coverage.

Because we could not confirm the July 1, 2026 figures on the official Chicago or Cook County pages, we do not print them here. Check the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and Cook County's own minimum wage page before you set pay for anyone working in those areas. The rule is the one that applies everywhere: pay the highest rate for the place the work is done.

$15.00 by the week, month and year

Full-time pay at $15.00 works out to $600.00 weekly, $2,600.00 monthly and $31,200.00 yearly ($15.00 x 2,080 hours). A tipped worker's cash wage of $9.00 comes to $18,720.00 a year before tips. Hours beyond 40 in one week are paid at time and a half, $22.50 at the state minimum.

What a $15.00 employee costs in Illinois

One trap: the U.S. Department of Labor's state tax summary shows 2.80% for Illinois because it leaves out the 0.55% fund building rate. Budget with 3.35%. Illinois has no state payroll-funded leave program, though it does have a state income tax to withhold. Registration and other rules are in the Illinois payroll tax guide.

Paying Illinois hourly workers

If you have staff both inside and outside Chicago, each worker needs the right rate for where they work, and Chicago's rate moves in July while the state's would move in January. Gusto Simple charges a $49 monthly base fee and $6 for each person paid (checked October 16, 2026). Put it beside competitors in the best payroll software and see what payroll costs for 5, 10 and 25 people.

Neighbors: Indiana and Wisconsin use $7.25, and Michigan is $13.73.