Timeline of minimum wage increases in California
| Location (Year enacted) | Step | Minimum | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| State of California (announced) | Before increase: | $10.00 | |
| 1st | 10.50 | Jan. 1, 2017 | |
| 2nd | 11.00 | Jan. 1, 2018 | |
| 3rd | 12.00 | Jan. 1, 2019 | |
| 4th | 13.00 | Jan. 1, 2020 | |
| 5th | 14.00 | Jan. 1, 2021 | |
| 6th | 15.00 | Jan. 1, 2022 | |
| Berkeley (2014)1 | Before increase: | $9.00 | |
| 1st | 10.00 | Oct. 1, 2014 | |
| 2nd | 11.00 | Oct. 1, 2015 | |
| 3rd | 12.53 | Oct. 1, 2016 | |
| El Cerrito (2015) | Before increase: | $10.00 | |
| 1st | 11.60 | July 1, 2016 | |
| 2nd | 12.25 | Jan. 1, 2017 | |
| 3rd | 13.60 | Jan. 1, 2018 | |
| 4th | 15.00 | Jan. 1, 2019 | |
| Emeryville (2015) (more than 55 employees) | Before increase: | $9.00 | |
| 1st | 14.44 | July 1, 2015 | |
| Emeryville (2015) (55 or fewer employees) | Before increase: | $9.00 | |
| 1st | 12.25 | July 1, 2015 | |
| 2nd | 13.00 | July 1, 2016 | |
| 3rd | 14.00 | July 1, 2017 | |
| 4th | 15.00 | July 1, 2018 | |
| 5th | Same rate as large businesses | July 1, 2019 | |
| Los Angeles City/County (2015) (more than 25 employees)2 | Before increase: | $10.00 | |
| 1st | 10.50 | July 1, 2016 | |
| 2nd | 12.00 | July 1, 2017 | |
| 3rd | 13.25 | July 1, 2018 | |
| 4th | 14.25 | July 1, 2019 | |
| 5th | 15.00 | July 1, 2020 | |
| Los Angeles City/County (2015) (25 or fewer employees) | Before increase: | $10.00 | |
| 1st | 10.50 | July 1, 2017 | |
| 2nd | 12.00 | July 1, 2018 | |
| 3rd | 13.25 | July 1, 2019 | |
| 4th | 14.25 | July 1, 2020 | |
| 5th | 15.00 | July 1, 2021 | |
| Mountain View (2015) | Before increase: | $10.30 | |
| 1st | 11.00 | Jan. 1, 2016 | |
| 2nd | 13.00 | Jan. 1, 2017 | |
| 3rd | 15.00 | Jan. 1, 2018 | |
| Oakland (2014) | Before increase: | $9.00 | |
| 1st | 12.25 | March 1, 2015 | |
| Palo Alto (2015) | Before increase: | $9.00 | |
| 1st | 11.00 | Jan. 1, 2016 | |
| Richmond (2014)3 | Before increase: | $9.00 | |
| 1st | 9.60 | Jan. 1, 2015 | |
| 2nd | 11.52 | Jan. 1, 2016 | |
| 3rd | 12.30 | Jan. 1, 2017 | |
| 4th | 13.00 | Jan. 1, 2018 | |
| Sacramento (2015) | Before increase: | $9.00 | |
| 1st | 10.50 | Jan. 1, 2017 | |
| 2nd | 11.00 | Jan. 1, 2018 | |
| 3rd | 11.75 | Jan. 1, 2019 | |
| 4th | 12.50 | Jan. 1, 2020 | |
| San Diego (2014)4 | Before increase: | $9.00 | |
| 1st | 9.75 | Jan. 1, 2015 | |
| 2nd | 10.50 | Jan. 1, 2016 | |
| 3rd | 11.50 | Jan. 1, 2017 | |
| San Francisco (2014) | Before increase: | $11.05 | |
| 1st | 12.25 | May 1, 2015 | |
| 2nd | 13.00 | July 1, 2016 | |
| 3rd | 14.00 | July 1, 2017 | |
| 4th | 15.00 | July 1, 2018 | |
| San Jose (2012) | Before increase: | $8.00 | |
| 1st | 10.00 | March 11, 2013 | |
| Santa Clara (2015) | Before increase: | $10.00 | |
| 1st | 11.00 | Jan. 1, 2016 | |
| Santa Monica (2016) (26 or more employees)5 | Before increase: | $10.00 | |
| 1st | 10.50 | July 1, 2016 | |
| 2nd | 12.00 | July 1, 2017 | |
| 3rd | 13.25 | July 1, 2018 | |
| 4th | 14.25 | July 1, 2019 | |
| 5th | 15.00 | July 1, 2020 | |
| Santa Monica (2016) (25 or fewer employees) | Before increase: | $10.00 | |
| 1st | 10.50 | July 1, 2017 | |
| 2nd | 12.00 | July 1, 2018 | |
| 3rd | 13.25 | July 1, 2019 | |
| 4th | 14.25 | July 1, 2020 | |
| 5th | 15.00 | July 1, 2021 | |
| Sunnyvale (2014) | Before increase: | $9.00 | |
| 1st | 10.30 | Jan. 1, 2015 |
1 Berkeley's minimum wage law exempts nonprofit organizations for the first year.
2 City of Los Angeles' minimum wage law allows nonprofit organizations with more than 25 employees to apply for coverage under the small business schedule.
3 Richmond's minimum wage law allows employers that derive more than 50% of their income from transactions where goods and services produced in Richmond are shipped outside the city to pay an "intermediate" minimum wage that is the midpoint between the state and the city minimum wages. In addition, it exempts businesses that pay for less than 800 hours of employee labor during any two-week period.
4 San Diego's minimum wage law is on hold pending the results of a referendum in 2016. Indexing for San Diego does not begin until 2019.
5 Santa Monica's minimum wage law allows nonprofit organizations with more than 25 employees to apply for coverage under the small business schedule.
Source: UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education