Novato minimum wage

$17.73 an hour since January 1, 2026, rising to $18.25 on January 1, 2027. That's $0.83 above the California rate of $16.90.

Who it covers: Employees who do more than two hours of work in a week within Novato city limits. The rate depends on business size: the main rate below is for very large businesses with 100 or more employees. Businesses with 26 to 99 employees and with 1 to 25 employees have their own rates (see variants).

From	Hourly rate	Tipped cash wage	Official source
January 1, 2026	$17.73	$17.73 (no tip credit)	novato.gov checked 2026-10-26
January 1, 2027 scheduled	$18.25	$18.25 (no tip credit)	novato.gov checked 2026-10-26

Other rates in Novato

Who	Now	Next change	Source
Large businesses (26 to 99 employees) Businesses with 26 to 99 employees.	$17.46	$17.97 from January 1, 2027	novato.gov checked 2026-10-26
Small businesses (1 to 25 employees) Businesses with 1 to 25 employees. Novato's own small business rate is below the state minimum wage, so the city lists the California rate for this tier.	$16.90	$17.40 from January 1, 2027	novato.gov checked 2026-10-26

Changes not announced yet

January 1, 2028: Annual adjustment of the 100+ and 26 to 99 tiers by the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward CPI-W, capped at 3.5%. The small business tier follows the state minimum wage. The city usually posts the next year's rates in the fall (the 2027 rates were up by October 2026). (novato.gov)

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

Good to know

If the California minimum wage is higher than a Novato tier, the state rate applies. For 2026 and 2027 that is the case for the 1 to 25 employee tier.
State industry minimums (fast food, health care) still apply where they are higher.
California doesn't allow a tip credit, so tipped employees get the full rate.

Get an email when the Novato minimum wage changes

One email when a new rate is announced, and a reminder a week before it takes effect. Free, and you can stop it in one click.

Does the Novato rate apply at an address?

Live API, free for 50 lookups a day without an account. US street addresses.

Get the Novato rate by API

One call returns the federal, state, county and city rates that apply at an address, the one that governs, the tipped cash wage and the next change, each with its official source.

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

API docs · Pricing · State rates are free. City and county rates by name start on the Developer plan, address lookups on the Business plan.

Questions

What is the minimum wage in Novato in 2027?

$18.25 an hour from January 1, 2027.

Who does the Novato minimum wage cover?

Employees who do more than two hours of work in a week within Novato city limits. The rate depends on business size: the main rate below is for very large businesses with 100 or more employees. Businesses with 26 to 99 employees and with 1 to 25 employees have their own rates (see variants).

When does the Novato minimum wage go up next?

On January 1, 2027, to $18.25 an hour.

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.