CA Minimum Wage Increasing Again: These Cities Have The Highest Pay

CALIFORNIA — The minimum wage in California will increase again to $15.50 in the new year, but some Golden State cities will top the nation with minimum wages of nearly $19.

Many cities and counties across the state have their own ordinances for citywide minimum wages or for specific industries required to pay a higher hourly rate.

The minimum wage in the Golden State is currently $15 an hour for businesses with 26 or more employees and $14 an hour for businesses that have fewer than 26. However, that will change Jan. 1 when the state's minimum wage climbs by 50 cents in most areas — and by more than that in businesses with 25 workers or less.

California lawmakers voted to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour back in 2016, but the increase was phased in over several years. The law says the minimum wage must increase to $15.50 per hour for everyone if inflation increased by more than 7%. In May, the California Department of Finance said they projected inflation for the 2022 fiscal year would be 7.6% higher than the year before, triggering the increase.

California has about 3 million minimum wage workers, according to a conservative estimate from the state Department of Finance. The increase in the minimum wage will be about $3 billion, or less than 0.1% of the $3.3 trillion in personal income Californians are projected to earn.

According to an inventory compiled by the UC Berkeley Labor Center, 40 cities and Counties in California have their own ordinances with rates higher than that minimum amount.

Far above the Nation's highest wage, West Hollywood minimum wage workers will be paid a whopping $18.86 an hour by the end of 2023, and hotel workers in Santa Monica make $18.17 an hour as of July.

The state's highest minimum wage for all workers was recorded in Emeryville in Alameda County where the citywide minimum wage is $17.68 an hour, according to the Labor Center.

Most communities on the Labor Center's list of California cities with their own minimum wages were located in the Bay Area, including Mountain View and Sunnyvale in Santa Clara County, which also has hourly rates above $17, at $17.10.

San Diego and San Leandro were at the bottom of the Labor Center's list with the minimum wage set at $15 regardless of business size, still one dollar higher than California's required amount for small businesses. However, San Diego will raise its minimum wage to $16.30 starting at the beginning of the new year, according to the city.

Here are the 40 cities and counties in the state that have their own minimum wage ordinances from the highest to lowest minimum wages as of this month:

• Emeryville: $17.68
• Sunnyvale: $17.10
• Mountain View: $17.10
• Berkeley: $16.99
• San Francisco: $16.99
• West Hollywood: $16.50 for large businesses, $16 for small; $18.35 for hotel workers
• Palo Alto: $16.45
• Santa Clara: $16.40
• Cupertino: $16.40
• Los Altos: $16.40
• Milpitas: $16.40
• El Cerrito: 16.37
• San Mateo: $16.20
• Belmont: $16.20
• Redwood City: $16.20
• San Jose: $16.20
• Pasadena: $16.11
• Los Angeles: $16.04
• Fremont: $16
• Sonoma: $16 for large businesses, $15 for small
• Malibu: $15.96
• Los Angeles County (unincorporated): $15.96
• Santa Monica: $15.96; $18.17 for hotel workers
• Petaluma: $15.85
• Santa Rosa: $15.85
• South San Francisco: $15.80
• San Carlos: $15.77
• Novato: $15.77 for very large businesses, $15.53 for large and $15 for small
• Foster City: $15.75
• Menlo Park: $15.75
• Alameda: $15.75
• Burlingame: $15.60
• East Palo Alto: $15.60
• Half Moon Bay: $15.56
• Hayward: $15.56 for large businesses, $14.52 for small
• Richmond: $15.54
• Daly City: $15.53
• Oakland: $15.06 (will automatically bump to $15.50 on Jan. 1)
• San Diego: $15, regardless of size (will automatically bump to $15.50 on Jan. 1)
• San Leandro: $15, regardless of size (will automatically bump to $15.50 on Jan. 1)

Read more from KTLA: Which California cities have the highest minimum wage