CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) has announced that the Virginia minimum wage rate will increase to $12.77 effective January 1, 2026. 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. The new rate is part of a plan to incrementally raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by January 1, 2027.