Montgomery County will raise its minimum wage on July 1, with new rates tied to the size of the employer. The increase follows the County’s local law, which adjusts pay each year to track inflation. For workers, the change is a reminder that the County sets its own wage floor, separate from the state and federal rates.
The New Rates by Employer Size
The County uses a tiered system based on how many people an employer has on staff. Each tier rises on July 1.
- Large employers (51 or more employees): up 35 cents to $18.00 per hour
- Mid-size employers (11 to 50 employees): up 50 cents to $16.50 per hour
- Small employers (10 or fewer employees): up 45 cents to $15.95 per hour
These figures matter because they set the legal minimum an employer must pay for work performed in the County. A worker earning less than the rate that applies to their employer’s size is being underpaid under County law.
Why the Wage Keeps Climbing
The County does not set these numbers arbitrarily. The adjustments are based on a 2.0 percent increase in the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers in the Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria area in 2025, and the annual increase is meant to keep the local minimum wage in step with inflation.
The law behind this is Section 27-68 of the County Code, enacted in 2017. It requires the County to recalculate the rate every March based on the prior year’s regional CPI. Until all three employer categories reach the same wage, small and mid-size employers also receive an extra one percent adjustment each year.
For employees, the practical result is steady, predictable raises in the wage floor.
What the Increase Means in Real Dollars
The per-hour numbers can feel small. Over a year, they add up.
A full-time worker at a large employer earns roughly $14 more per 40-hour week, or about $728 more per year. At a mid-size employer, the gain is around $20 per week, near $1,040 per year. At a small employer, the figure lands around $18 per week, close to $936 per year.
Those amounts assume the employer actually pays the correct rate. Not all do.
When Pay Falls Short of the Law
Wage problems are not always obvious. They show up in ways that can be easy to miss at first.
- Paychecks calculated at the old rate after an increase takes effect
- Misclassifying the employer’s size to apply a lower tier
- Failing to pay overtime at the proper rate
- Withholding tips, deducting improperly, or shaving hours
- Paying tipped workers below the required cash-plus-tip total
When an employer pays under the lawful rate, the gap belongs to the worker. Maryland and County wage laws give employees ways to recover unpaid wages, and in some cases additional damages on top of the amount owed.
Recovering Unpaid Wages
A wage claim starts with the numbers: the hours worked, the rate that should have applied, and the difference between what was paid and what was owed. Pay stubs, schedules, time records, and bank deposits all help build that picture.
The County’s tiered system can complicate matters. An employer might argue it qualifies as a smaller category to justify a lower wage. Sorting out the correct tier, and the correct rate, is often where these disputes turn.
A Montgomery County, MD wage claim lawyer can review your pay records, identify the rate your employer was required to pay, and pursue the wages you are owed. This applies whether you work for a large company, a small business, or somewhere in between.
If you believe an employer has paid you less than Montgomery County’s minimum wage, or has shorted you on hours or overtime, the Montgomery County wage claim lawyer at Eric Siegel Law can review your situation and explain how to move forward.