New Mexico Minimum Wage for Employers in 2026: State, Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe
New Mexico Minimum Wage for Employers in 2026: State, Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe
The New Mexico minimum wage is $12.00 an hour statewide, and that is the floor for most employers. Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces each set their own wage rates, so the rate you owe depends on the city where each employee actually works. This guide covers the standard and tipped rates for those cities as of October 15, 2026, the changes scheduled for January 1, 2027, and how to confirm each figure before you set pay.
New Mexico minimum wage at a glance
Use this table to find your starting point, then read the section for your city. Each rate is an hourly figure.
| Jurisdiction | Standard wage | Tipped cash wage | Next scheduled change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico (statewide) | $12.00 since January 1, 2023 | $3.00, when tips make up the difference to $12.00 | None scheduled that we list here. Confirm with the Department of Workforce Solutions. |
| Albuquerque | $12.00 in 2026 | $7.20 from January 1, 2027. Confirm the 2026 tipped rate with the City. | $13.00 on January 1, 2027, or $12.00 if the employer pays qualifying benefits |
| Santa Fe (living wage) | $15.40 since March 1, 2026 | $3.00 base wage for employees who regularly earn $100 or more a month in tips, if base plus tips reaches $15.40 | $17.50 on January 1, 2027. Annual adjustment each March 1 from 2028. |
| Las Cruces | $13.01 since January 1, 2026 | $5.20 | Adjusted each year by CPI. The 2027 figure is not yet published. |
Statewide rate: $12.00 an hour
New Mexico's minimum wage has been $12.00 an hour since January 1, 2023. Employers may pay tipped employees a cash wage of $3.00 an hour, but only when tips bring total pay up to $12.00. The employer is responsible for the gap if tips fall short.
The math is simple but easy to get wrong. At a $3.00 cash wage, tips must cover $9.00 of every hour worked. If your servers average less than that, you owe the difference. Track tips by shift or by pay period so you can prove the total at payroll time.
The Department of Workforce Solutions publishes a summary of the Minimum Wage Act. Read it before you write tipped pay into your offer letters or handbook.
Albuquerque: $12.00 now, $13.00 in 2027
Albuquerque's city minimum is $12.00 an hour in 2026. On January 1, 2027, the city rate rises to $13.00 an hour. An employer that pays healthcare and/or childcare benefits worth at least $2,500 a year, annualized, may keep the rate at $12.00 instead.
Tipped employees move to $7.20 an hour from January 1, 2027. Confirm the 2026 tipped figure directly with the City of Albuquerque Legal Department before you set tipped pay this year.
The benefit option is the decision most employers need to make early. Confirm with the City how the annualized value is calculated and which benefits qualify before you build a 2027 budget around it. If you do not already pay qualifying benefits, budget for $13.00.
For a full-time employee working 2,080 hours a year (40 hours a week for 52 weeks), the move from $12.00 to $13.00 adds $2,080 a year in base wages per employee.
Santa Fe: a living wage of $15.40
Santa Fe's living wage is $15.40 an hour, effective March 1, 2026. It rises to $17.50 an hour on January 1, 2027. From 2028, the city adjusts the rate each March 1 using 50% of the change in CPI and 50% of the change in the HUD two-bedroom fair market rent. Any single-year increase is capped at 5%.
Santa Fe allows a $3.00 base wage for employees who regularly earn $100 or more a month in tips. That base wage is allowed only if base wage plus tips reaches $15.40 an hour. At a $3.00 base, tips must cover $12.40 of every hour worked.
Because this is a living wage rather than a standard minimum, confirm with the City of Santa Fe how it applies to each position before you rely on the tipped base wage. Do not assume a rate from the statewide or Albuquerque figures carries over.
Las Cruces: $13.01 with a yearly CPI adjustment
Las Cruces' minimum wage is $13.01 an hour, effective January 1, 2026. The tipped rate is $5.20 an hour. The city indexes its rate to CPI each year and sets the figure at the higher of the city rate or the state rate. Because the state rate is $12.00, the city rate is the one that applies today.
The 2027 figure has not been published. Check with the City of Las Cruces before you finalize your 2027 budget, and do not assume the 2026 figure carries forward unchanged.
Which rate applies to your employees
Wages differ by city, so the first question is always where the employee works. Follow these steps for each employee:
- Identify the city where the employee physically works. Your office address or registered agent address does not control the rate.
- Find that city in the table above and note the rate in force on each pay date, including any January 1 or March 1 change.
- If the city is not Albuquerque, Santa Fe or Las Cruces, the $12.00 state rate is the statewide floor. Check with that city, since it may set its own figure.
- For tipped staff, apply the tipped rule for that city. Confirm that the cash wage plus tips meets the full rate for every pay period.
- Write down the rate and the source you used for each city. A dated record protects you if a rate changes mid-year.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using the state rate in Albuquerque or Santa Fe. Santa Fe's living wage is already higher than the state rate, and Albuquerque's city rate rises above it on January 1, 2027 unless the benefit option applies, so the state rate may not be enough for employees working there.
- Missing the March 1 Santa Fe adjustment. The living wage changes on a set date each year starting in 2028, so calendar it.
- Assuming the Albuquerque benefit option is automatic. You must actually pay qualifying benefits at the annualized value to use the $12.00 rate in 2027.
- Applying the Santa Fe $3.00 base wage to everyone. The base wage applies only to employees who regularly earn $100 or more a month in tips.
- Carrying the Las Cruces 2026 rate into 2027. The city indexes its rate annually, and the new figure is not yet published.
Budgeting for the January 2027 changes
If you have Albuquerque employees on the $12.00 base, the 2027 change adds $1.00 an hour, or about $2,080 a year per full-time employee, unless you use the benefit option. In Santa Fe, moving from $15.40 to $17.50 adds $2.10 an hour, or about $4,368 a year per full-time employee at 2,080 hours. These are base wage figures only. They do not include payroll taxes, overtime or any wage compression adjustments you may choose to make.
Run the numbers now, while the 2027 change is still a few months away. For Las Cruces, leave a placeholder and update it when the city publishes its 2027 figure.
Registration and licensing before you hire
New Mexico has no statewide general business license. The state's basic setup has three steps: register your legal entity with the Secretary of State at enterprise.sos.nm.gov, obtain a free Business Tax Identification Number (BTIN, formerly called CRS) from the Taxation and Revenue Department at tax.newmexico.gov, and obtain any activity-specific license through the Regulation and Licensing Department.
The BTIN is a tax registration, not a license. Cities and some counties charge their own flat annual business registration, so check the city where you operate and where employees work. Those local fees are separate from any wage rule.
Where to confirm each figure
- New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions: the Minimum Wage Act summary and statewide tipped wage rules.
- City of Albuquerque Legal Department: 2026 and 2027 standard rates, the benefit credit calculation and the 2027 tipped rate.
- City of Santa Fe: living wage rates, the tipped base wage conditions and how the living wage applies to your positions.
- City of Las Cruces: the 2027 rate once it is published.
- New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department: BTIN registration at tax.newmexico.gov.
If you need help sorting out which office to ask, the New Mexico Small Business Development Center can point you to the right resource.
This guide is informational only. It is not legal, employment or tax advice, and it does not replace the statute, a city ordinance or the current published guidance of the agency that administers it. Wage rules change, and the figures here are current as of October 15, 2026. For a complex workforce, employees in more than one city, or a tipped-wage program, talk to a qualified employment attorney or CPA before you set pay.