Workers in Las Cruces are getting another pay bump: the city's minimum wage will rise to $13.47 per hour starting January 1, 2027, city officials announced, with the tipped minimum wage climbing to $5.39 per hour the same day.
The increase, detailed in a notice posted by the City of Las Cruces, builds on the city's current minimum wage of $13.01 per hour and tipped wage of $5.20 per hour, according to the Albuquerque Journal. That current rate already reflects a 2.8% bump the city made earlier this year, when the wage rose from $12.65 to $13.01. As KFOX first reported, the new rates apply to eligible work performed within city limits.
How Las Cruces Calculates Its Annual Raise
Las Cruces first adopted its minimum wage ordinance in 2014, and the Albuquerque Journal's report notes that since 2020 the city has based its annual adjustments on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index. Each year, the city compares that CPI-calculated figure against New Mexico's statewide minimum wage and sets its local rate at whichever number is higher, per the same report.
That formula has pushed local pay well above the state floor over time. The Albuquerque Journal's analysis found that Las Cruces's minimum wage climbed 27% between 2020 and 2026, rising from $10.25 to $13.01 an hour. The year before that, the rate moved from $12.36 to $12.65, while the tipped minimum wage rose from $4.95 to $5.06, according to KVIA.
New Mexico's Statewide Rate Hasn't Budged
New Mexico's statewide minimum wage, by contrast, has held at $12 an hour, or $3 for tipped workers, since 2023, the Albuquerque Journal reports. That gap is why Las Cruces's city-set rate keeps surpassing the state figure year after year. A city civic alert explains that when the state's minimum wage rose to $12 under SB 437 in January 2023, the Las Cruces City Council accepted that statewide number but kept its own ordinance rules in place for tipped wages.
Albuquerque's wage picture has moved differently. The Albuquerque Journal reported the city's minimum wage was set to remain at $12 an hour, or $7.20 for tipped employees, through 2026, but the Albuquerque City Council later passed an ordinance raising the city's minimum wage from $12 to $15 over three years, with future annual adjustments tied to inflation. Under that plan, Albuquerque's minimum wage is scheduled to reach $13 in 2027 and climb another dollar annually until it hits $15 in 2029, per the outlet's separate report.
Santa Fe Still Sets the Regional High Bar
Santa Fe remains the highest-wage city in the comparison. The Albuquerque Journal notes Santa Fe mandated a $15 per hour minimum wage and its City Council approved a further increase to $17.50 beginning in 2027 — well above what Las Cruces, Albuquerque, or the state require.
For now, Las Cruces employers have compliance obligations tied to the new rate. Every employer must post the applicable wage notice in both English and Spanish, according to an official notice from the City of Las Cruces, and that notice must be displayed where employees can see it.
