From January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023, California state minimum wage is $15.50 per hour for all employers, regardless of size.
The California cities and counties below have local ordinances setting higher rates than the state. West Hollywood has the highest minimum rate, $19.08/hour. 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 | $16.75 |
| Berkeley (effective from July 1, 2023) | $18.07 |
| 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, 2023) | $18.67 |
| Half Moon Bay (indexed to CPI) | $16.45 |
| Foster City | $16.50 |
| Hayward (indexed to CPI) | $15.50 (25 or fewer employees) and |
| $16.34 (26 or more employees) | |
| Fremont (effective from July 1, 2023) (indexed to CPI) | $16.80 |
| Los Altos (indexed to CPI) | $17.20 |
| Menlo Park (indexed to CPI) | $16.20 |
| 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) (indexed to CPI) | $16.90 |
| Milpitas (effective from July 1, 2023) (indexed to CPI) | $17.20 |
| Mountain View | $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, 2023) | $16.93 |
| 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, 2023) | $18.07 |
| 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, 2023) | $16.90 |
| Santa Rosa (indexed to CPI) | $17.06 |
| Sonoma | $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 (effective from July 1, 2023) (indexed to CPI) | $19.08 |
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.
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 direct higher minimum rates for hotel workers.
See also:
- Is Dotted, Ts Crossed – Workplace Policy Handbook & Forms for 2023 (March 19, 2023)
- California Minimum Wage Rates for 2023 (December 7, 2022)
Helena Kobrin
Daniska Coronado
June 9, 2023