Allowance by age in Washington.
Every age from 5 to 17, worked out from the real minimum wage in Washington, $17.13 an hour. Not a number anyone made up.
An 8 year old in Washington earns
$9.79an hour
About $24.48 a week if they do 2½ hours of paid jobs. That's 57.2% of the minimum wage in Washington.
Worked out from US Department of Labor — State Minimum Wage Laws, rates from January 1, 2026. Seattle, SeaTac, Tukwila and other cities set higher minimums.
It's not a number we made up.
Every age from 5 to 17, worked out from the real minimum wage in Washington, $17.13 an hour. Not a number anyone made up.
- Pocket wage, paid by you
- Real minimum wage, paid by a boss
At 14, the legal minimum in Washington is $17.13 an hour. Pocket Wage draws a straight line from there back to zero, and a kid's age picks the spot on it.
The Jobs Board at age 8.
Every paid job has a standard time: how long it should take, not how long it did. Dawdle and you earn less a minute. Get good at it and you earn more. There's no timer to game and no price to haggle.
The Jobs Board at age 8, $9.79 an hour
| Job | Standard time | Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Vacuum the living areas | 20 min | $3.26 |
| Empty every bin in the house | 10 min | $1.63 |
| Hang out a load of washing | 15 min | $2.45 |
| Put the groceries away | 15 min | $2.45 |
Example jobs and times. Family Duties, like clearing your own plate, are unpaid: belonging isn't billable.
How junior wages work in the United States.
The United States has a federal minimum wage that has not changed since 2009, and thirty states plus DC set a higher one. The federal minimum working age for most jobs is fourteen, and a fourteen year old is owed the full minimum wage where they live, apart from a few states that permit lower youth rates.
Pocket Wage anchors on your state's minimum wage at fourteen and draws a straight line back to zero. Choose your state at the top: a five year old in California is on a very different ladder from one in Georgia, because their parents are too.
Fourteen for most non-farm work under federal law, with limits on hours during school. Some states set their own rules. The minimum wage applies from the first hour.
Source: US Department of Labor — State Minimum Wage Laws, rates from January 1, 2026.
By state
The rate for an 8 year old, worked out from each one's own minimum wage.
- Alabama$4.14
- Alaska$8.00
- Arizona$8.66
- Arkansas$6.29
- California$9.66
- Colorado$8.66
- Connecticut$9.68
- Delaware$8.57
- District of Columbia$10.51
- Florida$8.00
- Georgia$4.14
- Hawaii$9.14
- Idaho$4.14
- Illinois$8.57
- Indiana$4.14
- Iowa$4.14
- Kansas$4.14
- Kentucky$4.14
- Louisiana$4.14
- Maine$8.63
- Maryland$8.57
- Massachusetts$8.57
- Michigan$7.85
- Minnesota$6.52
- Mississippi$4.14
- Missouri$8.57
- Montana$6.20
- Nebraska$8.57
- Nevada$6.86
- New Hampshire$4.14
- New Jersey$9.10
- New Mexico$6.86
- New York$9.14
- North Carolina$4.14
- North Dakota$4.14
- Ohio$6.29
- Oklahoma$4.14
- Oregon$8.89
- Pennsylvania$4.14
- Rhode Island$9.14
- South Carolina$4.14
- South Dakota$6.77
- Tennessee$4.14
- Texas$4.14
- Utah$4.14
- Vermont$8.24
- Virginia$7.30
- Washington$9.79
- West Virginia$5.00
- Wisconsin$4.14
- Wyoming$4.14
Questions parents in Washington ask.
How much allowance should a kid get by age?
The old rule of a dollar per year of age per week gives a ten year old ten dollars for nothing. Pocket Wage pays a rate instead: your state's minimum wage scaled to their age, for the jobs they do.
What is the minimum wage for a 14 year old?
In most states, the general state minimum wage; federally, $7.25. A few states allow employers to pay minors less. Choose your state at the top and the 14 year old page shows the rate that applies.
Why is the allowance different in each state?
Because the minimum wage is. Pocket Wage is anchored to the real wage where you live, so the ladder in Washington is more than twice as steep as the one in a federal-minimum state.
Every birthday is a pay rise.
The app runs the whole thing: the Jobs Board, the standard times, a sacred weekly payday with a payslip, and Pay-Rise Day on every birthday. No cards, no stored money. The parent is the bank.