Las Cruces minimum wage tops $13

LAS CRUCES — With an increase taking effect on Jan. 1, the minimum hourly wage in Las Cruces will climb by 2.8% from $12.65 to $13.01. 

Tipped employees, meaning workers who regularly take in more than $30 per week in reported income from tips, will see a similar increase in base hourly salary, to $5.20 from last year’s minimum of $5.06.

The city adopted a minimum wage ordinance in 2014 addressing hourly pay, wages for employees who work primarily for tips, and regular cost-of-living raises. The ordinance took effect in 2015. Since 2020, annual increases to the wage have been enacted based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, a measure of changes in what consumers pay for goods and services.

According to data from November, the BLS reported that U.S. consumers saw a 2.7% increase in prices over 12 months, while noting that data from October was missing from the analysis due to the 43-day federal government shutdown from October to November. 

The city compares the CPI data to the state of New Mexico’s minimum wage – which has held at $12 an hour, or $3 for tipped workers, since 2023 – and sets its wage to the higher number. From 2021 to 2023, the city adopted the state’s minimum wage under that formula, but has since surpassed it.

The Las Cruces minimum wage has climbed 27% between 2020 and 2026, from $10.25 to the new $13.01 mark. Tipped wages have kept pace, increasing from $4.10 to the 2026 rate of $5.20.

Certain workers, including those under the age of 18, registered apprentices, executive or supervisory employees and others, are exempt from the minimum wage ordinance.

Albuquerque’s minimum wage in 2026 will remain $12 an hour, or $7.20 for tipped employees, according to the city. 

Meanwhile, Santa Fe continues to mandate the highest minimum wage statewide at $15 per hour. In November, the City Council approved an increase to $17.50 beginning in 2027, with city employees receiving the increase in 2026. Future increases to Santa Fe wages will be calculated on the cost of rental housing as well as CPI. 

A bill that would have raised New Mexico’s minimum wage to $17 per hour was sponsored during the 2025 legislative session by state Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero, D-Albuquerque, but the proposal died in committee. 

Most states and local governments have set minimum wages surpassing the federal minimum wage, which has remained at $7.20 since 2009.

Algernon D’Ammassa is the Journal’s southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.