Minimum Wage enforcement in New York City has added more than $2 billion to the earnings of app-based delivery workers since December 2023, according to a new city report covering results through June 2026.
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Minimum Wage Update
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection said average hourly earnings, including tips, rose from $10.48 before the rule to $27.03 in the second quarter of 2026.
The report is an assessment of the existing Minimum Wage law rather than a newly announced statewide or federal Minimum Wage increase.
It also presents evidence that consumer demand for restaurant deliveries continued to grow after the pay standard took effect.
NYC delivery worker pay rose sharply after enforcement began
New York City began enforcing its Minimum Wage standard for restaurant delivery apps in December 2023 after years of organizing by delivery workers and their advocates.
Before enforcement, restaurant delivery workers averaged $5.05 per hour in pay excluding tips, according to the city’s analysis.
By the second quarter of 2026, that hourly pay had increased to $21.63, while total average earnings including tips reached $27.03 per hour.
The city report measures both direct pay and gratuities because tips remain an important part of delivery workers’ total income.
Restaurant delivery workers’ total weekly earnings nearly doubled from $19.5 million in the third quarter of 2023 to $38.7 million in the second quarter of 2026.
Across restaurant and grocery delivery services included in the city’s analysis, total worker pay increased by more than $2 billion during the period examined.
Delivery demand continued to increase
The report found that higher worker pay did not coincide with a decline in restaurant delivery activity.
Weekly restaurant deliveries increased from 2.63 million in the third quarter of 2023 to 3.39 million in the second quarter of 2026, a 29% rise.
Weekly consumer spending on restaurant deliveries increased 46%, from $102.5 million to $149.6 million.
Those figures are significant because delivery apps had argued that higher labor costs could reduce demand or damage the restaurant delivery market.
The city’s data instead shows that deliveries and consumer spending grew during the period covered by the report.
The figures do not prove that the Minimum Wage rule alone caused every change in demand or earnings, but they show that the delivery sector expanded while the pay standard was in effect.
Workers completed more deliveries per hour
New York City also reported changes in how delivery time was organized after the pay rule began applying.
In the restaurant sector, time spent on delivery trips increased from 44% of workers’ total logged hours to 78%.
The number of deliveries completed per hour worked rose from 1.41 to 2.36, an increase of 68%.
The report said apps reduced the amount of unpaid waiting time between trips and used scheduling or access controls to manage the number of workers available during periods of demand.
Under the city’s rules, apps can choose between different payment methods, including a method that accounts for both time spent making deliveries and on-call time spent waiting for offers.
The city said all apps analyzed had selected the standard method based on trip time and on-call time rather than the alternative higher hourly rate that applies to trip time alone.
Higher pay came with less flexibility for some workers
The report also identifies tradeoffs in the way delivery platforms responded to the Minimum Wage requirement.
Before enforcement, many workers connected to several apps at once, a practice commonly known as multi-apping.
The city said that practice has become functionally impossible for many workers because apps now demand more active engagement during connected time and can penalize workers who decline offers.
Workers who previously logged in occasionally and waited for an acceptable delivery may also have less ability to work on that basis.
In the restaurant sector, the share of workers who logged in during an average week but completed no deliveries fell from nearly 29% before the rule to 3% in the latest data.
Among workers who remained active, average weekly hours increased from 17.4 to 20.5, an increase of 18%.
The report said those changes suggest delivery companies are moving toward a more regular workforce with fewer workers available only for occasional or highly flexible shifts.
Tips recovered after app design changes
Tips were another major issue examined in the city’s report.
According to the analysis, restaurant delivery apps changed their interfaces after the Minimum Wage rule took effect in ways that made it harder for customers to leave tips.
New York City later required apps to make tipping options more visible and easier to use during checkout.
Average tip earnings were $5.43 per hour in the third quarter of 2023 and $5.40 per hour in the second quarter of 2026, meaning tips had returned to approximately their earlier level.
The city said the recovery followed changes requiring apps to provide a selectable tip option, including a 10% option and the ability to enter a custom amount.
Tipping remains voluntary, and customers may still choose not to leave a tip.
Current pay rate and grocery-app timeline
The city’s report says the Minimum Wage rate for covered delivery workers was $22.13 per hour as of October 2026 when the standard accounts for trip time and on-call time.
That rate is different from the $21.63 hourly pay figure cited in the report’s comparison of restaurant-worker earnings because the report presents several measures of compensation, including pay excluding tips and total earnings including tips.
Restaurant delivery apps are the primary focus of the city’s historical comparison because the restaurant-sector standard was in place for a longer period.
New York City began phasing in Minimum Wage requirements for grocery delivery apps on January 26, 2026.
The city said grocery-sector data was still being collected and that a full-year comparison would become available later.
Delivery workers engaged by grocery apps and other covered services are included in the city’s broader delivery-worker laws, but the timing of the payment requirements differs by sector.
Deactivation protections are scheduled for 2027
Pay is not the only major protection affecting New York City delivery workers.
The city said it will begin enforcing deactivation protections in January 2027.
Those protections are intended to bar covered delivery apps from deactivating workers without just cause or a bona fide economic reason.
Deactivation complaints can involve alleged problems outside a worker’s control, including accidents, hospitalization, theft, delayed deliveries, or disputes over platform decisions.
The upcoming protections are separate from the current Minimum Wage requirement and do not change the earnings figures in the October 2026 report.
Enforcement remains a major part of the policy
The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection said it has continued investigating delivery-app practices and pursuing alleged underpayment.
The agency cited a $131.5 million settlement with DoorDash announced in September 2026 as well as earlier settlements involving Uber Eats, Fantuan, and HungryPanda.
The city also said it filed a lawsuit against Motoclick seeking unpaid wages and damages over alleged violations of delivery-worker laws.
Those enforcement matters involve allegations or settlements and should not be treated as proof that every delivery app violated the law.
For workers, the main practical takeaway is that New York City’s Minimum Wage standard remains in effect and that the city is using app-submitted compliance data to monitor pay practices.
Workers who believe an app has violated their rights can file a complaint with the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection through the city’s worker-protection service.
What the report means for workers and customers
The new findings show a substantial increase in reported earnings for covered delivery workers since enforcement began.
They also show that the policy changed how apps schedule workers, limit platform access, reduce waiting time, and present tipping choices.
For customers, the report indicates that restaurant delivery activity continued to expand even as worker compensation increased.
For workers, the gains in hourly and weekly pay may be accompanied by less flexibility, more performance monitoring, and greater difficulty using multiple apps at the same time.
The city’s report therefore portrays the Minimum Wage rule as a major pay increase while acknowledging that enforcement and additional protections will continue to shape the delivery-app industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did New York City announce a new Minimum Wage rate in this report?
No. The October 2026 announcement is an impact report on an existing delivery-worker minimum pay law that has been enforced since December 2023.
How much did NYC delivery workers earn in the latest data?
Average hourly earnings, including tips, reached $27.03 in the second quarter of 2026. Restaurant delivery pay excluding tips was reported at $21.63 per hour.
Did delivery demand fall after the pay requirement began?
No. Weekly restaurant deliveries increased 29%, while weekly consumer spending on restaurant deliveries rose 46% in the comparison cited by the city.
When will NYC begin enforcing delivery-worker deactivation protections?
The city says enforcement of protections against deactivation without just cause or a bona fide economic reason will begin in January 2027.
Fact-Checked: Key figures and dates were checked against the October 21, 2026 NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection announcement, its accompanying report, and the city’s Minimum Pay Rate information.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information and does not provide legal advice or determine an individual worker’s eligibility or claim.
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