Here are 36 California cities and counties where the minimum wage is higher than $14 an hour
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California set out in 2016 to become the first state on a path to a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Five years later, how’s that going? And why can some workers earn less than the minimum wage?
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California’s current minimum wage is $14 an hour for those working for employers with 26 or more employees and $13 an hour for the rest.
Next year, the state’s minimum wage will again increase by $1 an hour. By 2023, all employers will be paying workers $15 an hour, and the state will tie its minimum wage to inflation.
But three dozen cities and counties across the state have set higher minimum wages.
It remains to be seen whether those cities with higher minimum wages will have a more significant loss in jobs or a bigger decrease in poverty rate than those without, said David Neumark, an economics professor at the University of California, Irvine who has been studying the issue for years and wrote a paper on the topic in March.
“This paper says there’s a hint of both of those but not very strong,” he said. “There’s not a lot of evidence either of sizable cost or sizable gains.”
Here’s the current minimum wage in those cities and counties with a higher minimum wage, as of July 1, according to UC Berkeley Labor Center:
▪ San Diego: All employers, regardless of their size, must pay workers $14 an hour.
▪ Oakland: $14.36
▪ City of Alameda: $15
▪ Burlingame: $15
▪ East Palo Alto: $15
▪ Half Moon Bay: $15
▪ Hayward: $15 for employers with 26 or more employees; $14 for the rest
▪ City of Los Angeles: $15
▪ Unincorporated Los Angeles County: $15
▪ Malibu: $15
▪ Novato: $15.24 for employers with 100 or more employees; $15 for employers with 26 or more employees; $14 for the rest
▪ Pasadena: $15
▪ San Leandro: $15 (Those age 25 or younger who are employed by a non-profit or government entity for after school or summer employment, as a student intern or as a trainee are exempt)
▪ Santa Monica: $15
▪ City of Sonoma: $15 for employers with 26 or more employees; $14 for the rest
▪ Petaluma: $15.20
▪ Santa Rosa: $15.20
▪ Richmond: $15.21 (Employers who pay at least $1.50 per hour toward workers’ medical benefits may pay $1.50 less, as long as they are still paying above the state’s minimum wage)
▪ San Carlos: $15.24
▪ Fremont: $15.25 for employers with 26 or more employees; $15 for the rest (Employees of non-profits are exempt)
▪ Menlo Park: $15.25
▪ South San Francisco: $15.25
▪ San Jose: $15.45
▪ El Cerrito: $15.61
▪ Redwood City: $15.62
▪ City of San Mateo: $15.62
▪ Cupertino: $15.65
▪ Los Altos: $15.65
▪ Milpitas: $15.65
▪ Palo Alto: $15.65
▪ City of Santa Clara: $15.65
▪ Belmont: $15.90
▪ Mountain View: $16.30
▪ Sunnyvale: $16.30
▪ Berkeley: $16.32
▪ San Francisco: $16.32
▪ Emeryville: $17.13
This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Here are 36 California cities and counties where the minimum wage is higher than $14 an hour."
