The Virginia minimum wage rate will increase to $12.77 effective January 1, 2026, in accordance with Virginia law, according to the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI).

All Virginia employers must pay covered employees at a rate not less than the minimum wage, according to DOLI.

Under Virginia law, the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry has the duty to establish an adjusted state hourly minimum wage annually. The new minimum wage is calculated by adding the current minimum wage to the product of the current minimum wage and percentage increase of the United States Average Consumer Price Index, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The current minimum wage rate for 2025 is $12.41.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2024 percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all items, all urban consumers (CPI-U), is 2.9%. Therefore, the new adjusted state hourly minimum wage is $12.77 ($12.41 + [$12.41 x .029] = $12.77). The Virginia adjusted state hourly minimum wage rate for January 1, 2026, until January 1, 2027, is $12.77. This calculation will continue to be used for annual minimum wage rate adjustments.