California minimum wage

$16.90 an hour since January 1, 2026, rising to $17.40 on January 1, 2027.

Other rates in California

Changes not announced yet

• January 1, 2028: Statewide rate: annual CPI-W adjustment (capped at 3.5% a year, never lowered). The Department of Finance certifies the next year's amount in the summer (the 2027 rate was certified July 31, 2026 and announced by DIR on August 13, 2026). (dir.ca.gov)
• January 1, 2028: Health care variants for large health systems, dialysis clinics and large county facilities: rate adjusted for inflation each year from January 1, 2028 (DIR schedule). (dir.ca.gov)
• January 1, 2029: Health care variant for community and rural clinics: rate adjusted for inflation each year from January 1, 2029 (DIR schedule). (dir.ca.gov)
• January 1, 2030: Health care variants for all other covered facilities and medium county facilities: rate adjusted for inflation each year from January 1, 2030 (DIR schedule). (dir.ca.gov)
• July 1, 2032: Health care variant for safety net hospitals: DIR's table skips the July 1, 2032 to June 30, 2033 step for this category (it goes from $22.89 to $25 on July 1, 2033). The same 3.5% schedule for small county facilities shows $23.69 for that year. Confirm before relying on the safety net rate for that year. (dir.ca.gov)
• January 1, 2035: Health care variants for safety net hospitals and small county facilities: rate adjusted for inflation each year from January 1, 2035 (DIR schedule). (dir.ca.gov)

We add the amount as soon as it's published. The API returns these under pending_changes.

Good to know

• No tip credit: DIR says "An employer may not use an employee's tips as a credit toward its obligation to pay the minimum wage per hour."
• Learners in their first 160 hours in an occupation where they have no similar experience may be paid not less than 85 percent of the minimum wage, rounded to the nearest nickel (Minimum Wage Order MW-2026). The dollar amount isn't published, so it isn't a variant here.
• Fast food: AB 1228 set $20.00 from April 1, 2024 and created a Fast Food Council within DIR that can set later fast food minimum wage increases. DIR's FAQ and Council page still show $20.00 as of 2026-10-26, with no adopted increase.
• Skilled nursing facilities not owned or controlled by a hospital or health system follow the 'all other facilities' schedule only if a patient care minimum spending requirement is enacted; that hasn't happened per DIR's table, so they have no variant here.
• The health care minimum wage took effect October 16, 2024. Periods start with the rate in effect on 2026-01-01.
• Exempt-salary threshold for 2027 is $72,384 a year (2 x $17.40 x 2080 hours), per DIR's August 13, 2026 release.

Cities and counties with their own rate

curl "https://bankday.dev/v1/minimum-wage?state=CA&city=Alameda" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BANKDAY_KEY"

Questions

What is the minimum wage in California in 2027?

$17.40 an hour from January 1, 2027.

What is the tipped minimum wage in California?

California doesn't allow a tip credit, so tipped workers get the full $16.90.

Do cities in California have their own minimum wage?

Yes. 42 places set a local rate: Alameda, Belmont, Berkeley, Burlingame, Cupertino, Daly City, East Palo Alto, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Foster City, Fremont, Half Moon Bay, Hayward, Long Beach (hotel workers), Los Altos, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County (unincorporated areas), Malibu, Menlo Park, Milpitas, Mountain View, Novato, Oakland, Palo Alto, Pasadena, Petaluma, Redwood City, Richmond, San Carlos, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Leandro, San Mateo, San Mateo County (unincorporated), Santa Clara, Santa Monica, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, South San Francisco, Sunnyvale, West Hollywood.

Rates come from the official sources linked on this page, checked on the dates shown. This is data, not legal advice: confirm with the official source before relying on it. Found a mistake? Email hello@bankday.dev.