January 1, 2023, the California state minimum wage will be $15.50 per hour for all employers, regardless of size.
The California cities and counties below have local ordinances with higher rates than the state. Employers must review and comply with the rules for any locality in which their employees work. The UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education publishes regular updates.
| City or County | Minimum Wage Rate |
| Alameda (effective from July 1, 2022) | $15.75 |
| Belmont | $16.75 |
| Berkeley (effective from July 1, 2022) | $16.99 |
| Burlingame (indexed to Consumer Price Index [CPI]) | $16.47 |
| Cupertino (indexed to CPI) | $17.20 |
| Daly City (indexed to CPI) | $16.07 |
| El Cerrito (indexed to CPI) | $17.35 |
| Emeryville (indexed to CPI) (effective from July 1, 2022) | $17.68 |
| Half Moon Bay (indexed to CPI) | $16.45 |
| Foster City (New) | $16.50 |
| Hayward (indexed to CPI) | $15.50 (25 or fewer employees) and |
| $16.34 (26 or more employees) | |
| Fremont (effective from July 1, 2022) (adjusted to CPI) | $16.00 |
| Los Altos (indexed to CPI) | $17.20 |
| Menlo Park (indexed to CPI) | $16.20 |
| Los Angeles City (from July 1, 2022) | $16.04 |
| Los Angeles County (Unincorporated Areas) (from July 1, 2022) | $15.96 |
| Malibu (effective from July 1, 2022) (indexed to CPI) | $15.96 |
| Milpitas (effective from July 1, 2022) (indexed to CPI) | $16.40 |
| Mountain View (indexed to CPI) | $18.15 |
| Novato (indexed to CPI) | $15.53 (25 or fewer employees) |
| $16.07 (26+ employees) | |
| $16.32 (100+ employees) | |
| Oakland (indexed to CPI) | $15.97 |
| Palo Alto (indexed to CPI) | $17.25 |
| Pasadena (effective from July 1, 2022) | $16.11 |
| Petaluma (indexed to CPI) | $17.06 |
| Redwood City (indexed to CPI) | $17.00 |
| Richmond (indexed to CPI) | $16.17 |
| San Carlos (indexed to CPI) | $16.32 |
| San Diego | $16.30 |
| San Francisco City and County (indexed to CPI) (effective from July 1, 2022) | $16.99 |
| San Jose (indexed to CPI) | $17.00 |
| San Mateo (indexed to CPI) | $16.75 |
| Santa Clara (indexed to CPI) | $17.20 |
| Santa Monica (effective from July 1, 2022) | $15.96 |
| Santa Rosa (indexed to CPI) | $17.06 |
| Sonoma (indexed to CPI) | $16.00 (25 or fewer employees) and |
| $17.00 (26+ employees) | |
| South San Francisco (indexed to CPI) | $16.70 |
| Sunnyvale (indexed to CPI) | $17.95 |
| West Hollywood | $17.00 (49 or fewer employees) |
| $17.50 (50+ employees) |
Covered employers must also conspicuously post an updated wage notice/bulletin for each applicable jurisdiction. The above city/county link(s) provide respective current notices.
See also:
- Laying Down The Law Workplace Policy Handbook & Forms For 2023 (November 18, 2022)
- What’s New In 2023 – Covering Employment Legal Essentials and New Workplace Laws (November 15, 2022)
- California Mid-Year Minimum Wage Rate Increases (June 24, 2022)
Helena Kobrin
Daniska Coronado
December 7, 2022