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Effective January 1, 2025, Montana’s minimum wage rates lies at $10.55 per hour for non-tipped employees. This rise is a part of routine annual cost-of-living adjustments based on Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Montana doesn’t allow any tip credit, meal credit or training wage reductions, ensuring all employees are paid the full minimum wage rate. Businesses with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less are not covered by the FLSA are allowed to pay a lower wage of $4.00 per hour.
Montana mandates overtime law, entitling non-exempt employees an overtime pay 1.5 times their regular rates for working beyond 40 hours a week.
The state has uniform minimum wages across all its cities, mandating every city pays the same minimum wage of $10.55 per hour.
Minimum Wages in Montana Cities
The table below details minimum wage rates across all the cities of Montana.
| City | Non-Tipped Minimum Wage | Tipped Minimum Wage |
|---|---|---|
| Billings | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Missoula | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Great Falls | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Bozeman | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Butte | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Helena | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Kalispell | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Havre | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Anaconda | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Livingston | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Laurel | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Lewistown | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Whitefish | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Glendive | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Columbia Falls | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Polson | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Hamilton | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Dillon | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Libby | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Shelby | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Deer Lodge | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Hardin | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Glasgow | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Ronan | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Wolf Point | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Colstrip | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Miles City | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Belgrade | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Sidney | $10.55 | $10.55 |
| Cut Bank | $10.55 | $10.55 |
Threshold For Employees Exempt
Employees are classified as exempt or non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (also called United States Labor Law). Depending on the classification, the minimum wage changes implemented every year affect employees differently.
- Nonexempt employees must be paid at least the state minimum wage of $10.55 per hour, along with overtime pay of 1.5 times their regular rates for working beyond 40 hours per week.
- Exempt employees are typically salaried who perform executive, administrative, or professional duties and are exempt from overtime pay.
To qualify as exempt employees in Montana, employees must receive a minimum salary of $844 per week, or $43,888 annually. This threshold applies to employees from July 1, 2024.
Once the minimum wage for the state increases, if an exempt employee starts earning less than $844 per week, employers have two options:
- Raise their salaries to maintain exempt status, which would increase business costs by $375 per week or $19,500 annually per employee.
- Convert them to non-exempt status, paying them hourly and tracking any overtime worked.
Historical Data of Montana Minimum Wages
Since 1997, Montana has adhered to the federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour. In 2005, voters approved Initiative 151, which established a state minimum wage higher than the federal rate.
After Initiative 151, Montana’s minimum wage increased to $6.15 per hour effective from January 1, 2007. It was one of the several states to exceed the federal minimum wage during that time.
When the federal minimum wage increased to $7.25 in 2009 through the Fair Labor Standards Act amendments, Montana’s rate had already risen above this level due to a unique feature of the 2006 law: annual cost-of-living adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
As of late, Montana stands as the 27th highest state compared to other states for minimum wages.
Here is a table that shows the incremental rise in the minimum wages of Montana between 1968 and 2024.
| Time Period | Year | Minimum Wage (in $) |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 to 1981 | 1968* | $1.15 & $1.60 |
| 1970* | $1.30 & $1.60 | |
| 1972 | 1.60 | |
| 1976* | 1.80 | |
| 1979 | 2.00 | |
| 1980 | 2.00 | |
| 1981 | 2.00 | |
| 1988 to 1998 | 1988 | 3.35 |
| 1991 | 3.35 | |
| 1992 | 4.25 | |
| 1994 | 4.25 | |
| 1996 | 4.25** | |
| 1997 | 4.25** | |
| 1998 | 5.15** | |
| 2000 to 2006 | 2000 | 5.15** |
| 2001 | 5.15** | |
| 2002 | 5.15** | |
| 2003 | 5.15** | |
| 2004 | 5.15** | |
| 2005 | 5.15** | |
| 2006 | 5.15** | |
| 2007 to 2013 | 2007 | 5.15** |
| 2008 | 5.85** | |
| 2009 | 6.55** | |
| 2010 | 7.25** | |
| 2011 | 7.25** | |
| 2012 | 7.25** | |
| 2013 | 7.25** | |
| 2014 to 2019 | 2014 | 7.25** |
| 2015 | 8.00** | |
| 2016 | 9.00** | |
| 2017 | 9.00** | |
| 2018 | 9.00** | |
| 2019 | 9.00** | |
| 2020 to 2023 | 2020 | 9.00** |
| 2021 | 9.00** | |
| 2022 | 9.00** | |
| 2023 | 10.50** |
* – Under the FLSA, the two rates shown in 1968, 1970, and 1976 reflect the former multiple-track minimum wage system in effect from 1961 to 1978.
*** – Rates applicable to employers of four or more.
Source: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/history
Exemptions in Minimum Wages of Montana
All employees in the state of Montana must receive minimum wages for every hour worked as long as they’re not exempted from it. Employees are exempted if they belong to any of the following categories:
- Students and apprentices in educational or training programs
- Domestic workers and caregivers (including babysitters and home health aides)
- Family members and dependents of employers
- Professional employees (executives, administrators, IT professionals, outside sales)
- Nonprofit and seasonal workers (volunteers, camp employees)
- Federal employees and resident facility managers
Apart from these, there are exemptions for overtime provisions under minimum wages for employees belonging to:
- Transportation workers (truck drivers, taxi drivers, air carrier employees)
- Agricultural and forestry workers
- Sales professionals (car/boat salespeople, advertising sales, commission-based retail workers)
- Public service employees (police, firefighters, sheriffs)
- Healthcare workers with alternative work periods
- Media employees (radio announcers, news editors)
- Legislative branch employees
