July 1 Minimum Wage Increases in California

Your summer plans may include beach days, barbeques, and maybe a vacation or stay-cation. For California employers, this summer also includes a July 1 minimum wage increase for employees working in certain cities or counties, and for some healthcare employees.

Several city and county minimum wage increases, including a new minimum wage requirement for hospitality employees who work in San Diego, and statewide increases in minimum wage requirements for certain types of healthcare facilities, will take effect on July 1, 2026.

Local Minimum Wages

Many local jurisdictions throughout California implement mid-year minimum wage increases beyond the State’s required rate (which is $16.90/hour for most industries).

When determining if a local minimum wage applies to your business, remember that local minimum wage ordinances are based on where your worker is physically working. Be sure to consider your non-exempt (hourly) remote and hybrid workers who may be living/working in a geographic location different from your main office location. Also consider hourly employees who are sent to visit a client, attend an out-of-town conference, or business meeting. They may also be entitled to a higher pay rate during those working hours.
Local hourly rate increases taking effect on July 1 include:

July 1 Increases & Other Changes for Covered Hotel Workers

The local minimum wage is higher for employees working in covered hotels in several cities in California. July 1, 2026, hotel-worker increases are set for:

• Glendale
• City of Los Angeles
• Long Beach
• Santa Monica
• West Hollywood

In the City of Los Angeles, the hotel worker minimum wage will increase from $22.50 to $25.00/hour on July 1. The cities of Glendale and Santa Monica follow the City of Los Angeles covered hotel worker minimum wage rate.

Also beginning on July 1, 2026, covered hotel employers in the City of Los Angeles are required to provide a new payment per hour toward the provision of health care benefits. If the employer does not provide health benefits, or if the employer’s hourly health benefit payment rate is less than $4.25 per hour, the difference must be paid to the hotel worker as an additional hourly wage up to $4.25/hour. (Health benefit payments are not required to be paid on overtime hours.)

The City of Glendale has stated that its ordinance does not include the additional health benefit required for Los Angeles City hotel workers. The City of Santa Monica has not yet clarified whether its ordinance requires the additional health benefit amount. Employers with covered hotel employees in Santa Monica should continue to monitor the city’s website for more information.

San Diego’s New Hospitality Minimum Wage Ordinance

Beginning July 1, 2026, San Diego’s Hospitality Minimum Wage Ordinance sets minimum wage requirements for employees of covered hotels, amusement parks, and event centers within the geographical boundaries of the city. Covered facilities include:

• Hotels with at least 150 guest rooms or suites.
• Amusement parks on at least 75 continuous acres that are open to the public, contain permanent rides, and operate pursuant to a contract with the city.
• The following event centers: PetCo Park, Pechanga Arena, San Diego Convention Center, and Civic Theatre.

The Hospitality Minimum Wage beginning July 1, 2026, is $19/hour for covered hotel and amusement park employees, and $21.06/hour for covered event center employees.  Both wage rates have scheduled annual increases to $25/hour on July 1, 2030, with annual Consumer Price Index-based increases after that.

Employers must post and provide employees with a written notice regarding their rights under the Hospitality Minimum Wage Ordinance.  The required posting and notice template are available at the city’s website.

July 1 Statewide Healthcare Minimum Wage Increases

July 1, 2026 also marks an increase for employees in many healthcare facilities under California’s state minimum wage for the healthcare industry, depending on the type of healthcare facility.

Employees in the following healthcare facilities will see a minimum wage increase from $24 to $25/hour:

• Hospitals or integrated health systems with 10,000 or more full-time employees (including skilled nursing facilities operated by these employers)
• Dialysis Clinics
• Covered Health Care Facilities run by Large Counties (more than five million people as of 1/1/23)

Employees in the following healthcare facilities will see an increase from $21 to $23/hour:

• Covered Health Care Facilities run by Medium-Sized Counties (250,000 to five million people as of 1/1/23)
• All other covered health care facilities not listed in the other categories and not run by Counties

Employees in intermittent Clinics, rural healthcare clinics, and urgent care clinics associated with rural or community healthcare clinics will see an increase from $21 to $22/hour. Employees in “safety net hospitals” and Small Counties (less than 250,000 people as of 1/1/23) will see an increase from $18.63 to $19.28/hour.

Employers in the healthcare industry should consult the DIR’s Frequently Asked Questions to determine whether they are covered by the healthcare minimum wage law and when to expect the next minimum wage increase.

Reminder: To qualify as exempt, employees must be paid 1.5 times the healthcare minimum wage or 2 times California’s minimum wage, whichever is greater!

For an expansive list of local minimum wages in effect, CEA members may refer to our Local Minimum Wage Fact Sheet on our HR forms page.

We realize how complex all of these increases can be, and that’s why we are here for you. Don’t just Google for answers, call CEA for verification. CEA is the Human Intelligence that pairs with your Artificial Intelligence. Questions?  Our HR Advisors are just a phone call away at 800-399-5331.