Howard County minimum wage

$16.00 an hour since January 1, 2025, rising to $16.45 on January 1, 2027. That's $1.00 above the Maryland rate of $15.00.

Who it covers: All employers operating and doing business in Howard County with one or more employees besides the owners (Council Bill 82-2021), including county government and schools, but not federal, state or other local governments. General periods are the rate for employers that aren't 'small' (see variant); from July 1, 2026 all sizes pay the same.

From	Hourly rate	Tipped cash wage	Official source
January 1, 2025	$16.00	$3.63	howardcountymd.gov checked 2026-10-26
January 1, 2027 scheduled	$16.45	$3.63	howardcountymd.gov checked 2026-10-26

Other rates in Howard County

Who	Now	Next change	Source
Small employers 14 or fewer employees; 501(c)(3) nonprofits; home health or home and community-based service providers getting at least 75% of revenue from Medicaid; food service facilities of any size	$16.00	$16.45 from January 1, 2027	howardcountymd.gov checked 2026-10-26

Changes not announced yet

January 1, 2028: From 2027 the county rate is adjusted by CPI-U each January 1; the 2028 amount isn't published yet. (howardcountymd.gov)

We add the amount as soon as it's published. The API returns these under pending_changes.

Good to know

Tipped employees can be paid $3.63 cash if tips bring them to the county minimum (same cash wage as Maryland state law).
Workers under 18 must get at least 85% of the county minimum wage; under-16s working 20 hours a week or less and some other groups are excluded.
The Maryland Department of Labor's Howard County poster (revised 9/1/2026) shows $16 an hour for all employers from 7/1/2026.
Howard County has no incorporated municipalities, so the county rate covers the whole county.
The 2027 quote is a table row on the county page (cells run together without spaces in some text extractors).

Get an email when the Howard County minimum wage changes

One email when a new rate is announced, and a reminder a week before it takes effect. Free, and you can stop it in one click.

Does the Howard County rate apply at an address?

Live API, free for 50 lookups a day without an account. US street addresses.

Get the Howard County rate by API

One call returns the federal, state, county and city rates that apply at an address, the one that governs, the tipped cash wage and the next change, each with its official source.

curl "https://bankday.dev/v1/minimum-wage?state=MD&city=Howard%20County" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BANKDAY_KEY"

API docs · Pricing · State rates are free. City and county rates by name start on the Developer plan, address lookups on the Business plan.

Questions

What is the minimum wage in Howard County in 2027?

$16.45 an hour from January 1, 2027.

Who does the Howard County minimum wage cover?

All employers operating and doing business in Howard County with one or more employees besides the owners (Council Bill 82-2021), including county government and schools, but not federal, state or other local governments. General periods are the rate for employers that aren't 'small' (see variant); from July 1, 2026 all sizes pay the same.

When does the Howard County minimum wage go up next?

On January 1, 2027, to $16.45 an hour.

Rates come from the official sources linked on this page, checked on the dates shown. This is data, not legal advice: confirm with the official source before relying on it. Found a mistake? Email hello@bankday.dev.