The City of Las Cruces Minimum Wage will increase on Jan. 1, 2026, from $12.65 to $13.01 an hour. The minimum hourly wage for tipped employees will increase from $5.06 to $5.20 an hour, pursuant to the Las Cruces Municipal Code (LCMC).
History of Las Cruces minimum wage:
In 2014, the City enacted ordinance 2726 which established a minimum wage, tipped wage, and annual increases, for Las Cruces. From 2015-2019 the amount of the minimum wage was a set number but for 2020 and beyond, both the minimum wage and tipped wage increases were tied to the CPI index, as per the ordinance.
Effective January 1, 2020, the State enacted the New Mexico Minimum Wage Act. Each year in September, we calculate the minimum wage and tipped wage based on the City ordinance and compare it to the minimum wage and tipped wage set by the State of New Mexico; we adopt the higher of the two. In 2020, the City minimum wage was higher than the State so we adopted the City minimum wage; from 2021-2023 the State minimum wage was higher, so we adopted that amount. The tipped wage as calculated by the City ordinance has always been higher than the State so that is what has been adopted.
In 2024 and 2025, the State minimum wage remained at $12. However, the City of Las Cruces minimum wage increased, based on CPI index and the City ordinance which adopts the higher of the State or Las Cruces amount.
In 2026, the State minimum wage will remain at $12. The City of Las Cruces minimum wage will increase, based on the CPI index and the City ordinance which adopts the higher of the State or Las Cruces amount.
A comparison of the adopted wages for the past few years follows:
In 2020 Minimum Wage was valued at $10.25 and the Tipped Wage was valued at $4.10.
In 2021 Minimum Wage was valued at $10.50 and the Tipped Wage was valued at $4.16.
In 2022 Minimum Wage was valued at $11.50 and the Tipped Wage was valued at $4.40.
In 2023 Minimum Wage was valued at $12.00 and the Tipped Wage was valued at $4.78.
In 2024 Minimum Wage was valued at $12.36 and the Tipped Wage was valued at $4.95.
In 2025, Minimum Wage was valued at $12.65 and the Tipped Wage was valued at $5.06.
In 2026, the Minimum Wage will be valued at $13.01 and the Tipped Wage will be valued at $5.20.
Information about Las Cruces’ 2026 minimum wage is available online at the following links:
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