Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Project weekly and annual earnings from Rhode Island's minimum wage rate ($16.00/hr) and hours worked.
Rhode Island's general state minimum wage is pre-filled at $16.00/hr (as of September 17, 2026, per the Tax Foundation and U.S. Department of Labor). Some cities/counties, and some job categories (tipped workers, minors), have different rates -- edit the rate below if a different one applies to you, and always verify current figures at your state labor department or dol.gov.
Rhode Island's general state minimum wage is $16.00/hr (as of September 17, 2026, per the Tax Foundation and U.S. Department of Labor). This tool projects weekly and annual earnings from an hourly rate and hours worked, pre-filled with Rhode Island's current minimum wage -- editable for your own actual rate.
Enter an hourly rate (pre-filled with Rhode Island's minimum wage), hours worked per week, and weeks worked per year. Your projected weekly and annual pay appear instantly.
Rhode Island's headline rate of $16.00 is $8.75 above the $7.25 federal minimum, or about 121% higher. Where a state rate is higher than the federal one, covered employers generally have to pay the higher figure.
Ranked against all 51 jurisdictions in this data set, Rhode Island comes in at number 5 from the top, tied with Hawaii, New York. The jurisdictions with headline rates closest to Rhode Island's are Hawaii ($16.00), New York ($16.00), New Jersey ($15.92).
For context, Rhode Island also charges a 7% state sales tax -- see the Rhode Island sales tax calculator for how that adds up at the register.
These figures multiply Rhode Island's $16.00 rate across common schedules, over 52 weeks, before any taxes or deductions:
Every extra dollar per hour is worth $40.00 a week and $2,080.00 over a full-time year at 40 hours. Put differently, a full-time worker paid exactly $16.00 earns about $33,280.00 a year before tax, which is roughly 83% of a $40,000 salary.
Under the federal rule for covered, non-exempt employees, hours beyond 40 in a week are generally paid at one and a half times the regular rate. At Rhode Island's headline minimum, ten overtime hours would be worth $240.00 for those hours alone ($24.00 per hour). This calculator multiplies rate by hours and weeks as entered and does not apply overtime automatically, so add overtime pay separately. Some states add their own daily-overtime or premium-pay rules, so check Rhode Island's labor department for the rules that apply to your job.
Working backwards is often more useful than forwards. To earn $2,000.00 a month before tax at Rhode Island's $16.00 rate you would need about 28.8 hours a week, and to reach $3,000.00 a month about 43.3 hours a week. A $30,000.00 annual target works out to about 1875 paid hours in the year at that rate (roughly 36.1 hours per week), and $50,000.00 to about 3125 paid hours. Numbers like these show how sharply the hourly figure limits earning power, which is why people often compare the local minimum wage against a rough local cost of living before deciding whether a job's pay is workable. They also show why many workers seek hours above the minimum or a raise once they have some experience.
Rhode Island's $16.00 figure is the general rate, but it isn't universal -- tipped employees, minors, students, and seasonal or agricultural workers can be governed by different numbers, and employer size or a local ordinance can raise it further in some cities or counties. This calculator simply projects whatever rate you enter, so adjust it to match your real situation and verify with the Rhode Island labor department or the U.S. Department of Labor.
Not necessarily -- tipped workers, minors, and some other job categories can have different minimum wage rules in many states, and some cities/counties set their own local minimum wage above the state figure. Edit the rate field if a different one applies to your specific situation.
Your state's Department of Labor (or equivalent) and the U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov) publish current official minimum wage rates -- always verify there, since rates change over time, often annually.
At $16.00 an hour for 40 hours a week over 52 weeks, gross pay is about $33,280 a year, or roughly $2,773 a month before taxes and deductions.
Yes. The rate used here, $16.00, is $8.75 above the $7.25 federal minimum wage, and covered employers generally have to pay the higher of the two.
Workers earning the standard minimum wage in Rhode Island are paid $16.00 an hour. Ranked against every other state and DC, that's tied for 5th highest of 51 jurisdictions (with 2 others) -- 4 set a higher floor, 20 match the $7.25 federal rate, and Rhode Island is $8.75 an hour (120.7%) above the $7.25 federal minimum. District of Columbia tops this dataset at $18.40/hour -- Rhode Island would need a $2.40 raise to match it.
For context, Rhode Island also charges a 7% state sales tax -- see the Rhode Island sales tax calculator for how that adds up at the register.
| Hours worked in a week | Gross pay for the week |
|---|---|
| 10 | $160.00 |
| 20 | $320.00 |
| 25 | $400.00 |
| 30 | $480.00 |
| 35 | $560.00 |
| 40 | $640.00 |
At a full 40-hour week that's $640.00, or $2,773.33 a month and $33,280.00 a year (2,080 hours). Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, hours worked past 40 in a week are paid at 1.5×, so overtime for a Rhode Island minimum-wage worker runs $24.00 an hour.
These are gross figures. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare (7.65% for the employee) and any state or local taxes come out of them, so take-home pay is lower; the paycheck calculator shows the difference.
Of Rhode Island's 2 bordering states, 1 sets a higher minimum wage and 1 sets a lower one.
| Neighbouring state | General minimum wage |
|---|---|
| Connecticut | $16.94 per hour |
| Massachusetts | $15.00 per hour |
How many hours do you need to work in Rhode Island to earn $1000 at minimum wage?
At $16.00/hour, earning $1,000 before taxes takes 62.5 hours. For $100 it's 6.3 hours, and for $2,000 it's 125 hours.
Is Rhode Island's minimum wage above or below $15 an hour?
Rhode Island's $16.00/hour rate is $1.00 above the $15.00/hour figure often cited in minimum-wage debates.
What is the difference between Rhode Island's minimum wage and the federal minimum wage?
Rhode Island sets its own floor $8.75/hour above the federal $7.25 rate, so the state figure is the one that applies to most workers there.
What does overtime pay look like at Rhode Island's minimum wage?
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees earn 1.5× their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a week. At Rhode Island's $16.00/hour floor, that's $24.00/hour for overtime hours.
Figures are as of September 17, 2026, per the Tax Foundation and U.S. Department of Labor. Cities, counties, tipped and youth wages and employer size can change the rate that applies to you; check the U.S. Department of Labor state minimum wage page or your state labor department.
Reference: Internal Revenue Service