California minimum wage 2026: state, city and industry rates

The California minimum wage is $16.90 an hour in 2026 and applies to every employer in the state, no matter how many people it employs. On January 1, 2027, it goes up to $17.40 an hour. That is the floor. If you have staff in a city or county with its own ordinance, in a covered fast food restaurant, or at a covered health care facility, a higher rate applies, and you must pay whichever rate is highest for each hour worked. This guide covers each of those rates with sources, worked pay examples, and a checklist for the January change.

California minimum wage 2026 and the 2027 increase

The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) announced in December 2025 (release 2025-118) that the statewide rate would rise from $16.50 to $16.90 an hour on January 1, 2026. Its official minimum wage order, MW-2026, says every employer, “regardless of the number of employees,” must pay at least that amount for all hours worked.

On July 31, 2026, the California Department of Finance certified the next increase, and DIR confirmed it in release 2026-66 on August 13, 2026: the minimum wage in California will be $17.40 an hour on January 1, 2027.

How the number is set: once the rate reached $15, state law requires a yearly adjustment for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). DIR’s FAQ says the rate cannot go down, and any single-year increase is capped at 3.5%. The 2027 increase of $0.50 is about 3.0%.

California is one of several states with its own overtime rules too, so the minimum wage is only part of the picture. Daily overtime after 8 hours and double time after 12 are covered in our California overtime law guide.

Weekly pay examples at the minimum wage in California

These examples show gross pay before taxes. They assume the employee is non-exempt and paid only by the hour.

Example with daily overtime. A cashier earns $16.90 an hour and works five 9-hour shifts, 45 hours in total. California owes time and a half for each hour over 8 in a day, so 5 hours are overtime at $25.35 ($16.90 × 1.5).

1. Regular pay: 40 hours × $16.90 = $676.00.
2. Overtime pay: 5 hours × $25.35 = $126.75.
3. Total for the week: $676.00 + $126.75 = $802.75.

The same week in San Diego, where the city rate is $17.75, pays 40 × $17.75 = $710.00 plus 5 × $26.625 ($17.75 × 1.5) = $133.13, for $843.13. If the employee also earns a night premium, add it to the regular rate first; our shift differential guide shows how, and how to calculate overtime walks through bonuses and two-rate weeks.

California minimum wage history

Until 2022, California had two rates based on employer size. From 2023 the rate has been the same for all employers. These figures come from the DIR minimum wage FAQ and its published wage orders.

Tips, learners and minors

• No tip credit. DIR states that an employer may not use an employee’s tips as a credit toward the minimum wage. A server in Sacramento gets at least $16.90 an hour from the employer, and tips are on top. City ordinances in places like San Diego and Berkeley say the same.
• Minors. There is no separate youth wage. DIR says no distinction is made between adults and minors for the minimum wage.
• Learners. An employee who has no similar or related experience in the job may be paid at least 85% of the minimum wage for their first 160 hours of work. Check the local ordinance before using it, because a city minimum may not include the same exception.
• Meals and lodging. These can count toward the minimum wage only with a voluntary written agreement, and only up to the caps in MW-2026, such as $8.42 for a lunch in 2026.
• Who is not covered. The minimum wage order does not apply to outside salespersons or to the parent, spouse or children of the employer.

Fast food and health care minimum wages

Fast food. Since April 1, 2024, covered fast food restaurant employees must be paid at least $20.00 an hour, according to DIR’s fast food minimum wage FAQ. It applies to limited-service restaurants that are part of a national chain with at least 60 establishments nationwide. The Fast Food Council can raise the rate each year by the lower of 3.5% or the change in the CPI. As of this update, DIR’s fast food order still lists $20.00; check the council’s notices before each January. Where a city rate is higher, such as Emeryville’s $20.34, the higher city rate wins.

Health care. SB 525 set a separate minimum for covered health care workers, including support staff such as janitors, food service workers and clerks at covered facilities. DIR’s supplement MW-7/2026–7/2027 lists these rates from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027:

Clinics that qualify can apply to DIR for a waiver that postpones their increase, and facilities run by the state are excluded. Confirm your category on the DIR health care minimum wage FAQ.

City and county minimum wages in 2026

Dozens of California cities and counties set their own minimum wage above the state rate. Most local ordinances cover anyone who works at least two hours a week inside city limits, including part-time staff and minors. Some adjust on January 1 and others on July 1. The rates below are the ones in effect on November 4, 2026, taken from each city’s or county’s official notices.

This is not every local ordinance. Cities including Alameda, Fremont, Hayward, Milpitas, Malibu, Redwood City, Richmond, San Mateo, Santa Rosa and others also set their own rates, so check the official website of every city where your staff work. A few places also have separate, higher minimums for specific jobs. Los Angeles has hotel and airport worker wage ordinances, and Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Oakland set hotel worker rates. Look these up on the city’s labor standards page, such as Wages LA for the City of Los Angeles.

Remember that the city rate depends on where the work happens, not where the business is registered. A crew that spends Monday in Oakland and Tuesday in San Francisco is owed each city’s rate for the hours worked there, which is much easier with a time clock app with GPS and geofencing that records where each shift took place.

Exempt salary threshold for 2026 and 2027

The CA minimum wage also sets the salary floor for most overtime-exempt employees. To pass the salary test, an exempt executive, administrative or professional employee must earn at least two times the state minimum wage for full-time work.

• 2026: $16.90 × 2 × 40 × 52 = $70,304 a year ($5,858.67 a month).
• 2027: $17.40 × 2 × 40 × 52 = $72,384 a year ($6,032.00 a month), per DIR release 2026-66.

City minimum wages do not change this figure; only the state rate counts. Covered health care workers have a higher test: DIR says the salary must be at least 1.5 times the health care minimum wage or two times the state minimum, whichever is greater. At $25.00 an hour that is $25.00 × 1.5 × 2,080 hours = $78,000 a year. The salary is only half the test, though. Duties matter too, as our exempt vs non-exempt guide explains.

Minimum wage posting requirements

• State order. Post DIR’s official notice, MW-2026, next to your IWC industry or occupation wage order where employees can see it. DIR lets you print it from its website on 8.5" × 14" paper. Replace it with the 2027 version once DIR publishes it.
• Industry supplements. Fast food and health care employers must also make the DIR supplement for their industry available to employees.
• Local notices. Most cities with their own minimum wage require their own poster, usually in several languages. Los Angeles, Oakland, Berkeley, Sunnyvale and Santa Monica all publish official notices to download.

What employers should do before January 1, 2027

1. List every work location. Note the city or unincorporated county for each one and look up its current and 2027 rates.
2. Find everyone under $17.40. Update hourly rates for the first payroll period that includes hours on or after January 1, 2027, plus any higher city rate.
3. Check exempt salaries. Anyone classified as exempt must earn at least $72,384 a year from January 1, 2027, or be reclassified as non-exempt and paid overtime.
4. Watch for pay compression. A lead earning $17.25 today will soon earn less than a new hire at $17.40. Decide on raises before the schedule is published.
5. Recalculate overtime and premiums. Overtime, double time, and meal and rest break premiums are all based on the regular rate, so they rise with the base wage.
6. Swap the posters. Replace state and city notices as new versions are released.
7. Plan for July 1 too. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, Emeryville, Pasadena and Santa Monica change on July 1, and health care rates step up then as well.

Underpaying the minimum wage is costly. Employees can recover unpaid wages with interest and liquidated damages, and the Labor Commissioner’s Office can assess penalties. Workers with questions can call the Labor Commissioner at 833-526-4636. A shift scheduling tool that shows labor cost per shift makes the new rate visible before the week starts, not after payroll runs.

Frequently asked questions