California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage Translate Our Website This Google ™ translation feature provided on the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) website is for informational purposes only. The LAO is unable to guarantee the accuracy of this translation and is therefore not liable for any inaccurate information resulting from the translation application tool. Choose your language: × Skip to main content Home --> Policy Areas Capital Outlay, Infrastructure Criminal Justice Economy and Taxes Education Environment and Natural Resources Health and Human Services Local Government State Budget Condition Transportation Other Government Areas Publications The Budget Propositions and Initiatives Staff Careers About Us Search LAO Contact Seth Kerstein Table of Contents California’s Minimum Wage Who Are California’s Low-Wage Workers? How Long Do People Stay in Low-Wage Work? Is California’s Minimum Wage High, Low, or Somewhere in Between? Appendix See More Publications Like This Back to the Top --> Tweet March 11, 2024 California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage California’s Minimum Wage Overall Statewide Minimum Wage $16 Per Hour. Over the last decade, two statutes—Chapter 351 of 2013 (AB 10, Alejo) and Chapter 4 of 2016 (SB 3, Leno)—gradually have increased California’s statewide minimum wage from $8 per hour to $16 per hour. Under SB 3, the statewide minimum wage will continue to increase by up to 3.5 percent each year, depending on inflation. New Minimum Wages for Certain Types of Employers. In 2023, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed two industry-specific minimum wages: one for fast-food chains (Chapter 262 [AB 1228, Holden]), and another for health care facilities (Chapter 890 [SB 525, Durazo]). Businesses covered by the fast-food law must pay their employees at least $20 per hour starting April 1, 2024. As originally enacted, the health care facility law would impose various pay requirements starting June 1, 2024. When we published this post, the Governor had announced his intention to propose changes to the health care facility law, but the details of that proposal were not yet available. Many Cities Have Higher Minimum Wages. Many California cities—and the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and San Mateo County—set minimum wages that exceed the $16-per-hour statewide minimum. We list some of these policies in Figure 1 below. Figure 1 Notable Local Minimum Wages Jurisdictions Minimum Wage, March 2024 West Hollywood $19.08 Mountain View 18.75 Sunnyvale 18.55 San Francisco; Berkeley 18.07 Palo Alto 17.80 Santa Clara (city); Cupertino; Los Altos 17.75 San Jose 17.55 Santa Rosa; Petaluma 17.45 Pasadena 16.93 Los Angeles (unincorporated county); Santa Monica; Malibu 16.90 San Diego 16.85 Los Angeles (city) 16.78 Oakland 16.50 Posts on Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage. To help inform the Legislature’s future decisions about minimum wages—and policies related to low-wage work more generally—our office has published a series of posts: Who Are California’s Low-Wage Workers? How Long Do People Stay in Low-Wage Work? Is California’s Minimum Wage High, Low, or Somewhere in Between? Appendix Who Are California’s Low-Wage Workers? → Subscribe | California State Legislature | Online Voter Registration | Privacy Policy | Accessibility Legislative Analyst's Office | The California Legislature's Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor 925 L Street, Suite 1000 Sacramento, CA 95814 | (916) 445-4656