Maine’s statewide minimum wage will rise to $15.70 an hour on Jan. 1, 2027, up 60 cents from the current $15.10, the Department of Labor announced Friday. The same change will raise the direct cash wage for tipped service employees from $7.55 to $7.85 an hour and increase the monthly tip threshold used to define a service employee from $191 to $199.
The increase is automatic rather than a new discretionary decision. Maine’s wage statute requires an adjustment each January based on the August-to-August change in the Northeast Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. The law rounds the result to the nearest five cents. The Department of Labor said the relevant index rose 4.1% from August 2025 to August 2026, producing the 60-cent increase.
What employers must change
Employers should plan to update payroll systems before the first pay period containing Jan. 1. Maine has already posted its free 2027 workplace poster, which says covered agriculture and nonagriculture employers must pay at least $15.70 an hour. The document also reminds employers that state law generally covers businesses operating in Maine with at least one employee and that local ordinances may impose additional requirements.
The poster lists a new salary threshold for certain overtime exemptions: $905.79 a week, or $47,101.08 annually. Meeting that salary figure alone does not make a worker exempt; the employee’s duties must also satisfy the applicable test. Employers using a tip credit remain responsible for making up any weekly shortfall when direct wages plus tips do not average at least $15.70 an hour, according to the state guidance.
Who is affected
The department cited federal survey data showing that 28,000 hourly workers in Maine earned less than $15 an hour in 2025. That group represented about 8% of workers paid hourly and roughly 4% of all wage-and-salary workers. The count is context rather than a projection: it does not establish how many people will receive a raise in 2027, because pay rates and employment can change before the effective date.
Agricultural employees are included. A 2025 law created a state minimum hourly wage for covered agricultural workers and applies the same annual CPI-W adjustment beginning in 2027. It also requires employers to retain accurate wage-and-hour records for three years and provide workers with pay statements showing hours, earnings and deductions.
For workers, the practical checkpoint is the first paycheck covering work performed on or after Jan. 1. For employers, the state’s poster page provides versions in several languages and says printed Maine posters are available free. Questions about coverage, tip credits or overtime classifications should be directed to the Maine Bureau of Labor Standards before the new statewide rate takes effect.
