Pay Frequency Requirements by State

Paydays by state

How often does an employer have to pay you?

It depends on the state where you work. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets the minimum wage and overtime, and the U.S. Department of Labor says wages required by the FLSA are due on the regular payday for the pay period covered. How often that regular payday comes is set by state law, and the Department keeps a table of each state's payday requirements. A few states require weekly pay, many require pay at least twice a month, and others only require a regular payday at least once a month. A handful, including Alabama and Florida, have no frequency rule at all. Several states also set different rules for salaried employees who are exempt from overtime, and New York has a separate rule for manual workers.

The four common schedules give different numbers of paychecks: weekly pay gives 52 in most years, biweekly 26 (27 in some years, see 27 pay periods in a year), semimonthly 24 and monthly 12. Biweekly and semimonthly sound alike but are not the same: a semimonthly schedule pays on two set dates each month, while a biweekly schedule pays every 14 days, which means two paydays in most months and three in two months of a typical year. Because paydays 14 days apart always land at least twice in any calendar month, a biweekly schedule also satisfies a twice-a-month rule. See semimonthly vs biweekly pay and how many paychecks in a year for the math.

How the pay frequency checker works

Pick the state, the type of employee and the pay schedule you want to test. The checker answers allowed, not allowed, or only in some cases, and shows the state rule and the schedules that meet it. The default example is an hourly employee in California paid biweekly: allowed, because California requires pay at least twice during each calendar month and biweekly pay gives 26 paychecks a year. Choose salaried, exempt from overtime, to see the exceptions that many states make for executive, administrative and professional employees. In New York the two choices become manual worker and clerical or other worker.

Weekly, twice a month or monthly: the state patterns

• Weekly: Vermont requires weekly pay unless the employer gives notice of biweekly or semimonthly pay. Rhode Island requires most employers to pay weekly, with permission needed to pay less often. New York requires weekly pay for manual workers.
• Weekly or every two weeks: Connecticut, Massachusetts (for hourly employees) and New Hampshire allow weekly or biweekly pay but not semimonthly pay without an exception. Connecticut and New Hampshire can permit longer periods, but pay must still come at least once each calendar month.
• At least twice a month: the largest group, including California, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Arizona, Nevada, New Jersey, Georgia and the District of Columbia. Maine sets the limit as regular intervals of no more than 16 days, and West Virginia as twice every month with no more than 19 days between paydays.
• At least once a month: Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota (every 31 days), North Dakota, Oregon (35 days), South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin.
• No set frequency: Alabama, Florida, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and South Carolina have no frequency rule for most employers. Louisiana, Mississippi and Wyoming set a twice-a-month rule only for certain industries.

Exceptions for salaried and exempt employees

Many twice-a-month states let employers pay executive, administrative and professional employees once a month. California allows it if the whole month's salary is paid by the 26th, and the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey and New Mexico have similar exceptions. Texas lets employers pay employees who are exempt from federal overtime once a month, Utah does the same for employees on a yearly salary, and Virginia requires salaried employees to be paid at least once a month instead of every two weeks. Arizona and Nevada allow monthly pay for exempt and supervisory staff only when the employer is based outside the state and runs its payroll there. In Massachusetts, salaried employees can be paid weekly, biweekly or semimonthly, and executive, administrative and professional employees can choose monthly pay.

Pay frequency laws for all 50 states and DC

As of September 28, 2026. The law column shows the state code section checked for this page; rows marked DOL table rely on the U.S. Department of Labor's State Payday Requirements table. Scroll the table sideways on a phone.

31 rows were checked against the state code or state labor department on September 28, 2026; 20 rows use the U.S. Department of Labor table, last revised January 1, 2023. Collective bargaining agreements, public employers and industry rules are not shown.

Where the federal table and the state code differ

The Department of Labor's payday table carries a January 1, 2023 date, and in a few rows it does not match the state code we read on September 28, 2026:

• Connecticut: the table marks weekly pay, with longer intervals only if the labor commissioner approves; the statute allows pay weekly or once every two weeks, and the commissioner can permit longer pay periods as long as pay comes at least once each calendar month.
• West Virginia: the table marks every two weeks; the code requires pay at least twice every month with no more than 19 days between paydays, unless a special agreement provides otherwise.
• Nevada: the table allows monthly pay for executive, administrative and professional staff; the statute allows it only when the employer's principal place of business and payroll are outside Nevada.
• District of Columbia: the table marks twice a month only; the code also lets employers pay bona fide administrative, executive and professional employees once a month.
• Wyoming: the table marks twice a month for everyone; the statute names railroads, mines, refineries, oil and gas work, and factories, mills and workshops.

The federal table also leaves out some exceptions that state codes make for salaried or exempt employees: Maryland lets employers pay administrative, executive and professional employees less often, Missouri allows monthly pay for them and for commission employees, and Maine's 16-day rule does not cover salaried employees. The checker and the table on this page follow the state code wherever we could read it, and the law column says which source a row uses.

When the paycheck is due after the period ends

Frequency is only half of the rule. Many states also limit the lag between the end of a pay period and payday: 7 calendar days for weekly, biweekly and semimonthly payrolls in California, 7 days in Delaware, 8 days in Connecticut, 9 days in Rhode Island, 10 days in Washington, and 12 days, not counting Sundays and legal holidays, in Iowa. Kentucky requires each payday to cover wages earned up to a day no more than 18 days earlier. Your first paycheck can take longer than later ones for the same reason, and the last one follows separate final paycheck laws.

To see what each check will be under a new schedule, try the biweekly pay calculator, the semimonthly pay calculator or the paycheck frequency comparison calculator, and the 2026 biweekly payroll calendar for pay dates.