Ringing in the 2025 New Year with Minimum Wage Increases All Around California

Minimum Wage in 2025

California has increased minimum wage for the entire state, and some cities have increased minimum wage even higher than the state’s minimum.

All minimum wage employees in the state of California will see a pay increase of at least $0.50 an hour from $16 to $16.50 an hour. However, some cities have created their own minimum wage. A city can choose to have a higher minimum wage than the state’s, but no city can choose to have a lower minimum wage. The California minimum wage is the minimum pay per hour for the entire state. The cities that have established a higher minimum wage than California are as follows:

Southern California

• San Diego: $17.25

• West Hollywood: $19.65
  

Northern California

• Belmont: $18.30

• Burlingame: $17.43

• Cupertino: $18.20

• Daly City: $17.07

• East Palo Alto: $17.45

• El Cerrito: $18.34

• Foster City: $17.39

• Half Moon Bay: $17.47

• Hayward: $17.36, $16.50 for small businesses

• Los Altos: $18.20

• Menlo Park: $17.10

• Mountain View: $19.20

• Novato: $17, $16.50 for small businesses

• Oakland: $16.89

• Palo Alto: $18.20

• Petaluma: $17.97

• Redwood City: $18.20

• Richmond: $17.77

• San Carlos: $17.32

• San Jose: $17.95

• San Mateo: $17.95

• Unincorporated San Mateo County: $17.46

• Santa Clara: $18.20

• Sonoma: $18.02, $16.96 for small businesses

• South San Francisco: $17.70

• Sunnyvale: $19

As you can see, nearly all of the cities with higher minimum wages are in Northern California except for San Diego and West Hollywood. If you work or own a business anywhere in California, you need to be aware that minimum wage has increased across the entire state starting in January of 2025.