How does every state's minimum wage compare?
This table reflects approved state government minimum wage figures as most recently tracked in published reporting. "Approved" means the state government has signed off on the figure, not necessarily that every worker in that state is being paid it consistently and on time, a distinction covered further down this page.
| State | Minimum wage |
|---|---|
| Imo | ₦104,000 |
| Ebonyi | ₦90,000 |
| Lagos | ₦85,000 |
| Rivers | ₦85,000 |
| Niger | ₦80,000 |
| Enugu | ₦80,000 |
| Akwa Ibom | ₦80,000 |
| Bayelsa | ₦80,000 |
| Oyo | ₦80,000 |
| Ogun | ₦77,000 |
| Edo | ₦75,000 |
| Kebbi | ₦75,000 |
| Benue | ₦75,000 |
| Osun | ₦75,554 |
| Ondo | ₦73,000 |
| Kaduna | ₦72,000 |
| Kogi | ₦72,500 |
| Gombe | ₦71,451 |
| Kano | ₦71,000 |
| Nasarawa | ₦70,500 |
| Delta | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Kwara | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Adamawa | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Anambra | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Abia | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Jigawa | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Borno | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Cross River | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Yobe | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Sokoto | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Plateau | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Ekiti | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Taraba | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Bauchi | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Katsina | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| FCT (Abuja) | ₦70,000 (federal floor) |
| Zamfara | ₦70,000 approved, reported not fully implemented |
All 36 states plus the FCT are listed above. Rates in the "federal floor" group are reported at exactly ₦70,000; states aren't distinguished further within that group because published tracking doesn't report finer differences among them.
Approved vs. actually implemented: what's the difference?
A state approving a minimum wage figure is a legal and administrative step. Whether every worker in that state is actually receiving that amount, on time, every month, is a separate, practical question. Zamfara is the clearest example in current reporting: approved at ₦70,000, but described as not yet fully implemented. Even among states paying above the floor, implementation has sometimes rolled out in phases (Kaduna's increase, for instance, was reported as phased rather than immediate) rather than all at once.
If you're a civil servant in a specific state and your actual pay doesn't match the figure listed here, that's worth raising with your state's labour ministry or union directly. This table reflects approved policy, not a guarantee of your payslip.
Does this apply to private-sector jobs too?
The National Minimum Wage Act sets a legal floor intended to apply broadly across employment, but the state-by-state tracking above mostly reflects public-sector, civil-servant pay, since that's what state governments announce directly. Private-sector employers are legally bound by the same floor, but actual practice varies by employer and isn't tracked the same way. If you work in the private sector, treat your employer's actual pay as the practical reality, and the legal floor as your minimum entitlement if it isn't being met.
People also ask
Can a state pay below the federal ₦70,000 floor?
No, ₦70,000 is the legal national floor. States can pay more, and states struggling with implementation can lag in actually paying it, but no state can legally set a lower minimum than the federal figure.
Why do some states pay so much more than others?
State minimum wages are negotiated individually between each state government and labour unions, factoring in the state's own revenue and cost of living. This is why the range runs from ₦70,000 up to ₦104,000 in Imo, rather than a single uniform figure across the country.
How often does the minimum wage get reviewed?
The current federal wage law dates to July 2024. Individual states have adjusted their own figures at different points since then, some multiple times, so check current figures periodically rather than assuming this table stays accurate indefinitely.