Minimum wage for 18 to 20 year olds: every value since 1999
The hourly minimum wage for young adults: the 18 to 21 year old rate from 1999 to September 2010, and the 18 to 20 year old rate since October 2010.
Low Pay Commission gives 30 values for this rate, from £3.00 on 1 April 1999 to £10.85 on 1 April 2026. Each row is a date on which the rate was set; between the first and the latest it went up 26 times, and 3 rows repeat the previous value. The largest rise from one value to the next was +16.3%, on 1 April 2025 (from £8.60 to £10.00). Across the whole series the cash value changed by +261.7%. The value on 1 April 2025 was +16.3% on the one before; ONS CPI inflation for calendar year 2025 was 3.4%. Ten years before the latest value, on 1 April 2016, it was £5.30.
Development or 18 to 20 rate
| From | Development or 18 to 20 rate (an hour) | Change on previous value | CPI inflation that calendar year (ONS, D7G7) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 April 2026 | £10.85 18-20 rate | +8.5% | not yet published |
| 1 April 2025 | £10.00 18-20 rate | +16.3% | 3.4% |
| 1 April 2024 | £8.60 18-20 rate | +14.8% | 2.5% |
| 1 April 2023 | £7.49 18-20 rate | +9.7% | 7.3% |
| 1 April 2022 | £6.83 18-20 rate | +4.1% | 9.1% |
| 1 April 2021 | £6.56 18-20 rate | +1.7% | 2.6% |
| 1 April 2020 | £6.45 18-20 rate | +4.9% | 0.9% |
| 1 April 2019 | £6.15 18-20 rate | +4.2% | 1.8% |
| 1 April 2018 | £5.90 18-20 rate | +5.4% | 2.5% |
| 1 April 2017 | £5.60 18-20 rate | +0.9% | 2.7% |
| 1 October 2016 | £5.55 18-20 rate | +4.7% | 0.7% |
| 1 April 2016 | £5.30 18-20 rate | – | 0.7% |
| 1 October 2015 | £5.30 18-20 rate | +3.3% | 0.0% |
| 1 October 2014 | £5.13 18-20 rate | +2.0% | 1.5% |
| 1 October 2013 | £5.03 18-20 rate | +1.0% | 2.6% |
| 1 October 2012 | £4.98 18-20 rate | – | 2.8% |
| 1 October 2011 | £4.98 18-20 rate | +1.2% | 4.5% |
| 1 October 2010 | £4.92 18-20 rate | +1.9% | 3.3% |
| 1 October 2009 | £4.83 18-21 rate | +1.3% | 2.2% |
| 1 October 2008 | £4.77 18-21 rate | +3.7% | 3.6% |
| 1 October 2007 | £4.60 18-21 rate | +3.4% | 2.3% |
| 1 October 2006 | £4.45 18-21 rate | +4.7% | 2.3% |
| 1 October 2005 | £4.25 18-21 rate | +3.7% | 2.1% |
| 1 October 2004 | £4.10 18-21 rate | +7.9% | 1.3% |
| 1 October 2003 | £3.80 18-21 rate | +5.6% | 1.4% |
| 1 October 2002 | £3.60 18-21 rate | +2.9% | 1.3% |
| 1 October 2001 | £3.50 18-21 rate | +9.4% | 1.2% |
| 1 October 2000 | £3.20 18-21 rate | – | 0.8% |
| 1 June 2000 | £3.20 18-21 rate | +6.7% | 0.8% |
| 1 April 1999 | £3.00 18-21 rate | 1.3% |
Source: Low Pay Commission.
CPI: ONS series D7G7, for the calendar year the period starts in. About these tables · CSV
Related pages
Sources and receipts
- Data tables for the Low Pay Commission 2025 Report (Historic rates of the NMW/NLW), Low Pay Commission.
File: 2025_Main_Report_Data.xlsx. Read 2026-10-15. SHA-256
bd0c10dc42bc04d5af09792731464b9549f971a3ff36f9c2ddf0ee69281f08ee - Consumer price inflation time series (MM23), Office for National Statistics.
File: mm23.csv. Read 2026-10-15. SHA-256
1b78749ea634755b83064d88f4fc6f7dd177e0c41d8b573c9d8172b8d3fff641