Effective January 1, 2024, California minimum wage will increase to $16 per hour for all employers, regardless of size.
The California cities and counties below have ordinances with higher or more extensive minimums. Employers must review and comply with the rules for any locality in which their employees work. Many of those cities change on January 1 of each year, others on July 1 as noted below. The UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education publishes regular updates.
| City or County | Minimum Wage Rate |
| Alameda (effective from July 1, 2023) | $16.52 |
| Belmont | $17.35 |
| Berkeley (effective from July 1, 2023) | $18.07 |
| Burlingame | $17.03 |
| Cupertino | $17.75 |
| Daly City | $16.62 |
| East Palo Alto | $17.00 |
| El Cerrito | $17.92 |
| Emeryville (effective from July 1, 2023) | $18.67 |
| Half Moon Bay | $17.01 |
| Foster City | $17.00 |
| Hayward | $16.00 (25 or fewer employees) and |
| $16.90 (26 or more employees) | |
| Fremont (effective from July 1, 2023) | $16.80 |
| Los Altos | $17.75 |
| Menlo Park | $16.70 |
| Los Angeles City (from July 1, 2023) | $16.78 |
| Los Angeles County (Unincorporated Areas) (from July 1, 2023) | $16.90 |
| Malibu (effective from July 1, 2023) | $16.90 |
| Milpitas (effective from July 1, 2023) | $17.20 |
| Mountain View | $18.75 |
| Novato | $16.04 (25 or fewer employees) |
| $16.60 (26+ employees) | |
| $16.86 (100+ employees) | |
| Oakland | $16.50 |
| Palo Alto | $17.80 |
| Pasadena (effective from July 1, 2023) | $16.93 |
| Petaluma | $17.45 |
| Redwood City | $17.70 |
| Richmond | $17.20 |
| San Carlos | $16.87 |
| San Diego | $16.85 |
| San Francisco City and County (effective from July 1, 2023) | $18.07 |
| San Jose | $17.55 |
| San Mateo | $17.35 |
| San Mateo County | $17.06 |
| Santa Clara | $17.75 |
| Santa Monica (effective from July 1, 2023) | $16.90 |
| Santa Rosa | $17.45 |
| Sonoma | $16.56 (25 or fewer employees) and |
| $17.60 (26+ employees) | |
| South San Francisco | $17.25 |
| Sunnyvale | $18.55 |
| West Hollywood (effective from July 1, 2023) | $19.08 |
Covered employers must review the information for their location(s) and conspicuously post the current wage notice for each applicable jurisdiction, which can be downloaded through the links above.
Businesses with remote employees or employees in more than one location may need to apply different minimum wage rates in each. Some companies solve this complexity by paying the highest applicable rate across the boards.
Some jurisdictions set higher minimum rates for hotel workers. And a new law, AB 1228, prescribes a minimum wage of $20/hour for in-state restaurants of national fast food chains, effective April 1, 2024.
See also:
- What’s New in 2024 – Wage Theft Prevention Notice Updates (December 15, 2023)
- Fritter No More – Workplace Policy Handbook & Forms for 2024 (December 8, 2023)
- Know, Then Go – Annual Seminar for Employers (November 29, 2023)
- What’s New in 2024- Computer Software Employee Overtime Exemption Rates (December 8, 2023)
- What’s New in 2024 – Physicians and Surgeons Overtime Exemption Rates (November 21, 2023)
Helena Kobrin
Daniska Coronado
December 20, 2023