Minimum Wage Rates Across All 17 Regions (2026)
The table below lists the daily non-agriculture minimum wage currently in effect in each of the Philippines' 17 administrative regions, together with what that rate works out to on a monthly basis using the two most common divisors employers use for estimation. Rates are set independently by each region's wage board and are reviewed periodically, so they move at different times and by different amounts from one region to the next.
| Region | Daily Wage | Monthly (× 26 days) | Monthly (× 22 days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCR (Metro Manila) | ₱755.00 | ₱19,630.00 | ₱16,610.00 |
| CAR (Cordillera) | ₱505.00 | ₱13,130.00 | ₱11,110.00 |
| Region I (Ilocos) | ₱505.00 | ₱13,130.00 | ₱11,110.00 |
| Region II (Cagayan Valley) | ₱500.00 | ₱13,000.00 | ₱11,000.00 |
| Region III (Central Luzon) | ₱600.00 | ₱15,600.00 | ₱13,200.00 |
| Region IV-A (CALABARZON) | ₱600.00 | ₱15,600.00 | ₱13,200.00 |
| Region IV-B (MIMAROPA) | ₱455.00 | ₱11,830.00 | ₱10,010.00 |
| Region V (Bicol) | ₱455.00 | ₱11,830.00 | ₱10,010.00 |
| Region VI (Western Visayas) | ₱550.00 | ₱14,300.00 | ₱12,100.00 |
| Region VII (Central Visayas) | ₱540.00 | ₱14,040.00 | ₱11,880.00 |
| Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) | ₱470.00 | ₱12,220.00 | ₱10,340.00 |
| Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) | ₱464.00 | ₱12,064.00 | ₱10,208.00 |
| Region X (Northern Mindanao) | ₱500.00 | ₱13,000.00 | ₱11,000.00 |
| Region XI (Davao) | ₱525.00 | ₱13,650.00 | ₱11,550.00 |
| Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN) | ₱460.00 | ₱11,960.00 | ₱10,120.00 |
| Region XIII (Caraga) | ₱475.00 | ₱12,350.00 | ₱10,450.00 |
| BARMM | ₱436.00 | ₱11,336.00 | ₱9,592.00 |
Two patterns stand out. First, the National Capital Region has consistently held the highest minimum wage in the country, reflecting Metro Manila's higher cost of living and denser concentration of large enterprises able to absorb wage increases. Second, the lowest rates tend to cluster in regions with a larger share of agriculture-based and micro-enterprise employment — such as Eastern Visayas, Bicol, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao — where wage boards must balance worker welfare against the capacity of small, often informal, employers to pay.
How Regional Wage Boards Set the Minimum Wage
Unlike many countries that legislate a single nationwide minimum wage, the Philippines devolved wage-setting to the regional level under Republic Act No. 6727, the Wage Rationalization Act of 1989. That law created theNational Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) at the national level and, under it, a Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) for each of the country's 17 administrative regions. "Tripartite" means each board is composed of representatives from three sectors: government (usually chaired by the regional director of the Department of Labor and Employment), the labor sector (union and worker representatives), and the employer sector (business and industry representatives).
When a labor group, employer association, or local government petitions for a wage increase — or when the board decides on its own initiative that conditions warrant a review — the RTWPB conducts public consultations and hearings in the region. It studies indicators such as regional inflation and the consumer price index, the prevailing poverty threshold and estimated cost of a family's basic needs, employment and unemployment trends, wage distribution across industries, and the demonstrated capacity of local businesses to absorb a wage increase without significant job losses. Only after weighing testimony and data from all three sectors does the board issue a Wage Order, the legal instrument that sets a new minimum wage floor for the region.
A wage order does not take effect immediately. It must first be published in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the region (or posted in conspicuous public places where no such newspaper exists), and it generally takes legal effect 15 days after that publication. Within 10 days of publication, any party aggrieved by the order — whether a labor group that considers the increase too small or an employer group that considers it unaffordable — may file an appeal with the NWPC in Manila, which can approve, modify, or set aside the order. If the NWPC does not act within 60 days, the wage order automatically stands. Because the process runs independently in each region and on its own timetable, no two regions move their minimum wage on the same schedule, which is why the rates in the table above are staggered rather than uniform.
That NWPC appeal is not the only avenue through which a wage order can be contested, and NCR's newest order became a live illustration of that in 2026. Wage Order NCR-27 raised the region's non-agriculture minimum wage from ₱695 to ₱755 a day effective July 25, 2026, only for a Pasig City Regional Trial Court to issue a temporary restraining order five days later, on July 30, 2026, sought by employer-petitioners who argued the board had not adequately weighed their capacity to pay. The court heard the petitioners' bid to convert that TRO into a preliminary injunction on August 3, 2026, with several labor federations intervening to argue the restraining order itself oversteps a court's authority over wage-board proceedings; as of this writing (August 6, 2026) no ruling has come down, and the TRO remains in force at least through August 13, 2026 while pressure to lift it mounts from labor groups, senators, and Malacañang. The Office of the Solicitor General is defending the wage order on the government's side, and DOLE has said it will comply with the TRO in the meantime — meaning employers are effectively expected to revert to the prior ₱695/day rate for now, per contemporaneous press reports — without yet issuing updated payroll guidance of its own. It's a useful reminder that even a published, legally effective wage order isn't necessarily the final word until any pending court or NWPC challenge against it is resolved — readers relying on this page for current NCR payroll compliance should double-check the rate against a fresh DOLE or NWPC advisory rather than assuming the table above is litigation-proof.
Agriculture vs. Non-Agriculture: Two Different Wage Floors
Most wage orders do not set just one number — they typically prescribe at least two tiers. The non-agriculture rate (the figure used throughout this page and calculator) applies to industrial, commercial, and most other establishments operating outside farming and fishing. The agriculture rate — sometimes further split between plantation and non-plantation agriculture — applies to establishments primarily engaged in farming, livestock, and related activities, and is usually set somewhat lower than the non-agriculture rate for the same region.
The rationale is economic rather than a judgment about the value of agricultural work: farm output is more exposed to weather, seasonal cycles, and commodity price swings, and margins in many agricultural operations are thinner than in urban commerce and manufacturing. Wage boards attempt to set a floor that raises worker income without forcing widespread non-compliance or informalization in a sector that already struggles with thin margins.
Many wage orders add further carve-outs on top of the agriculture/non-agriculture split. Retail and service establishments employing fewer than 10 workers are frequently allowed a lower rate or a longer compliance runway. Establishments formally registered as Barangay Micro Business Enterprises under Republic Act No. 9178are exempt from the minimum wage law altogether, in exchange for other regulatory relief intended to help very small businesses formalize and grow. A distressed-establishment exemption may also apply, letting a company that can demonstrate financial losses apply to the RTWPB for temporary relief from a new wage order. All of this means the single "regional minimum wage" figure most people quote is really the ceiling of a small family of related rates, not a single number that applies to every employer in the region without exception.
Cost of Living Allowance (COLA): The Allowance That Became Part of Basic Pay
Older wage orders frequently granted part of a wage increase as a separate Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) rather than folding the entire amount directly into the basic wage. The appeal of doing it this way was largely political and administrative: granting a COLA let a wage board respond quickly to a spike in inflation without permanently restructuring an employer's basic payroll costs, and it gave the board room to negotiate a phased increase rather than one abrupt jump in basic pay.
The distinction between COLA and basic wage is not just accounting semantics — it has real consequences for workers. Overtime pay, night shift differential, holiday and rest-day premiums, 13th month pay, and retirement pay are all computed as a percentage of an employee's basic daily or monthly rate. A peso paid as COLA generally does not flow into those computations the way a peso paid as basic wage does. For that reason, labor groups have long pushed for COLA to eventually be absorbed into — or "integrated with" — basic pay, and RTWPBs periodically issue wage orders that do exactly that: folding some or all of an accumulated COLA into the basic wage figure, which permanently raises the base used for overtime, holiday pay, and 13th month computations going forward. Today's headline minimum-wage figures in most regions already reflect this integration, though a board may still choose to grant a portion of a fresh increase as COLA rather than basic pay if it wants to preserve some flexibility for a future review.
Why Take-Home Pay Isn't Simply Daily Rate × Days Worked
It's tempting to assume that a minimum-wage earner's paycheck is just the daily rate multiplied by the number of days worked in the period. In practice it's a little less, because Philippine law requires SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG contributions to be deducted from practically every employee's pay regardless of how low that pay is. These three deductions exist to fund social insurance, health coverage, and a national housing savings program, and unlike income tax, they are not waived for minimum-wage earners.
Using the calculator above as an example: an NCR-based minimum wage earner working 26 days a month at ₱755 per day earns a gross of ₱19,630.00. Even though that worker owes ₱0 in income tax, the employer must still withhold their share of SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG before releasing net pay — which is exactly what the "Estimated net pay" line in the result card above reflects. At this income level those three mandatory deductions combined typically run well over a thousand pesos a month — not a token amount — so multiply that gap across every payday in the year and it's easy to see why a worker's actual take-home pay, and the amount their employer actually disburses in cash, land noticeably below the theoretical daily-rate-times-days figure most people have in their head.
A minimum wage earner's gross pay and net pay are not the same number — SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG still apply — but a minimum wage earner's taxable income and tax due are typically ₱0.
It's also worth remembering that none of these three deductions are optional savings a worker can decline. Employers are legally required to remit both the employee's share and their own (larger) employer share every month, and failing to do so exposes the employer to penalties, interest, and potential criminal liability under the respective SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG charters — regardless of whether the affected employee is earning minimum wage or well above it.
Minimum Wage Earners and Income Tax Exemption
One area where minimum wage earners genuinely do get special treatment is income tax. Under the National Internal Revenue Code as amended — first by Republic Act No. 9504 in 2008, and carried forward by the TRAIN Law (Republic Act No. 10963) — a statutory Minimum Wage Earner (MWE) is exempt from income tax on their basic minimum wage, as well as on holiday pay, overtime pay, night shift differential, and hazard pay earned in that capacity. This is a distinct benefit from the TRAIN Law's general ₱250,000 annual tax-exempt bracket that applies to every taxpayer: an MWE's statutory exemption is tied specifically to being paid at or below the regional minimum wage, not merely to falling under a certain income threshold.
In practice, because the regional daily minimum wages shown in the table above are all well under the level that would generate any tax liability under the TRAIN brackets even before the MWE exemption is applied, a full-time minimum wage earner's employer will withhold ₱0 in income tax in almost every case. The exemption becomes practically significant mainly when a minimum wage earner also receives extra taxable pay in a given period — for example if overtime, a cash bonus, or a de minimis benefit beyond the tax-exempt ceiling pushes their total compensation for that period above what the minimum wage alone would produce.
What Employers and Employees Should Know
Paying below the applicable regional minimum wage is a labor standards violation, not a matter employers and employees can privately agree around — even if a worker "volunteers" to accept less. Underpayment can expose an employer to wage differentials (the difference between what should have been paid and what actually was, going back to when the violation began), plus potential fines and, in some cases, criminal liability under the Labor Code. Workers who believe they are being paid below the minimum wage for their region and classification can file a request for assistance or a complaint with the nearest field or regional office of the Department of Labor and Employment.
Employers, for their part, should keep track of which wage order currently governs each region where they operate, since a company with branches or project sites in multiple regions may legitimately be paying different minimum wages to otherwise identical roles simply because of where each site is located. It's also worth double-checking whether a particular branch or business line qualifies for a lower agriculture, small-retail, or BMBE-exempt rate before assuming the general non-agriculture figure automatically applies.
Finally, remember that the minimum wage is a legal floor, not a market benchmark. Many employers — especially in competitive urban labor markets like Metro Manila and Cebu — pay meaningfully above the regional minimum to attract and retain staff, and collective bargaining agreements in unionized workplaces frequently lock in rates well above whatever the RTWPB has most recently ordered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the minimum wage the same all over the Philippines?
No. The Philippines does not have a single nationwide minimum wage. Each of the 17 regions has its own Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, which sets and periodically adjusts a minimum wage specific to that region based on local economic conditions. That's why the daily rate in NCR can be nearly double the rate in some other regions, as shown in the comparison table above.
Does the minimum wage include the cost-of-living allowance (COLA)?
It depends on the region and how recently its wage order integrated COLA into basic pay. Historically, wage boards granted part of an increase as a separate COLA rather than adding it directly to basic wage, then folded that COLA into basic pay in a later order. The rates in this calculator reflect each region's current basic wage as set by its most recent wage order, which in most regions already includes previously granted COLA.
Do minimum wage earners still pay SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG?
Yes. These three contributions are mandatory for essentially all employees regardless of salary level, and minimum wage earners are not exempt from them. What minimum wage earners are exempt from is income tax on their basic pay, holiday pay, overtime, night differential, and hazard pay — SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG are a separate obligation entirely and are still deducted from their gross pay.
Is there a difference between agriculture and non-agriculture minimum wage?
Yes. Most wage orders set a lower rate for agricultural work (sometimes split further between plantation and non-plantation agriculture) than for non-agriculture establishments. Retail and service establishments with fewer than 10 employees, and enterprises registered as Barangay Micro Business Enterprises, may also be covered by a different rate or an outright exemption. The figures in this calculator are the non-agriculture rate, which is the one most commonly referenced.
How often does the minimum wage change?
There's no fixed schedule. Each region's wage board reviews and adjusts its rate whenever it determines that conditions warrant it — often triggered by a petition from labor or employer groups, sustained inflation, or a scheduled periodic review. Some regions have gone a few years between wage orders, while others adjust more frequently, so it's worth rechecking the current rate periodically rather than assuming last year's figure still applies.
Why does this calculator show two different monthly amounts?
Because there is no single legally mandated formula for converting a daily wage into a monthly figure. Employers commonly use either 26 working days (assuming a worker is off only on Sundays) or 22 working days (assuming a standard five-day workweek) as the divisor when estimating a monthly-equivalent salary for purposes like loan applications or benefit computations. Actual monthly pay always depends on how many days were actually worked or paid for in that specific month.
What can I do if my employer is paying below the minimum wage for my region?
You can file a request for assistance or a formal complaint with the nearest Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) field or regional office covering your workplace. DOLE can order the employer to pay wage differentials — the shortfall between what you should have been paid and what you actually received — in addition to any applicable penalties against the employer.
Does earning minimum wage mean I automatically pay no income tax?
If you are a pure minimum wage earner with no other taxable compensation, yes — your basic pay, holiday pay, overtime, night differential, and hazard pay are all statutorily exempt from income tax. However, if your total compensation for a period includes taxable bonuses, allowances beyond the tax-exempt de minimis ceiling, or other pay that pushes you above minimum-wage-earner status for that period, that additional amount can still be subject to withholding tax.