Los Angeles minimum wage in 2026

Los Angeles minimum wage facts

Rate from July 1, 2026

$18.42an hour, City of Los Angeles

Tipped workers

$18.42no tip credit in California

Effective

July 1, 2026was $17.87 from July 1, 2025

Next change

July 1, 2027rate announced Feb 1, 2027

"Los Angeles" can mean the city, unincorporated LA County or a separate city such as Santa Monica, and each has its own minimum wage. The county and Santa Monica, both at $18.47, are above the city. Which one you owe depends on the exact address where the work is done, not the mailing address.

Which addresses owe $18.42

The city rate applies to hours worked inside the City of Los Angeles boundaries. Many places with an LA mailing address are not in the city: unincorporated areas such as East Los Angeles owe the county's $18.47, and separate cities like Santa Monica set their own rates. Glendale, Burbank or Long Beach work falls under whatever those cities or the state require. Before you set a pay rate, check the work address against the city and county maps rather than the ZIP code.

Hotels are a special case. Los Angeles has a separate Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage that also rose on July 1, 2026. We could not confirm the new amount on the city's page, so check the Office of Wage Standards wage chart if you run a hotel.

Tipped staff in Los Angeles

California does not allow a tip credit. A server in the City of LA earns at least $18.42 an hour in wages from July 1, 2026, and every dollar of tips is extra. There is no separate tipped minimum wage to look up. That is a large gap from places like New York City, where a restaurant can pay a $11.35 cash wage plus tips, or the $2.13 cash wage allowed under federal law.

Overtime under California law starts after 8 hours in a day as well as after 40 in a week, per the U.S. Department of Labor's state summary; at the city minimum, time and a half is $27.63 an hour.

How the rate changes each year

Los Angeles raised its rate from $17.87 to $18.42 on July 1, 2026, an increase of $0.55. The city sets the next figure each February 1 and it takes effect July 1, so expect the 2027 number in early 2027. Meanwhile the state rate rises to $17.40 on January 1, 2027, which still leaves the city about a dollar higher. State rules, paid sick leave and other local rates are on the California minimum wage page.

Elsewhere in the state, San Francisco sets its own rate too, though we could not confirm its 2026 figure on the city's page. To see how LA ranks nationally, use the 2026 minimum wage table.

Cost of a full-time LA minimum wage worker

At $18.42 for 2,080 hours, pay is $736.80 a week, $3,192.80 a month and $38,313.60 a year. A new employer adds:

• FICA: 7.65% of $38,313.60 = $2,930.99.
• FUTA: 0.6% of the first $7,000 = $42.00. California is at risk of a 1.5% FUTA credit reduction for 2026 (final list after November 10, 2026), which would add $105.00 per employee.
• California unemployment: 3.4% new employer rate on the first $7,000 = $238.00.
• Employment Training Tax: 0.1% on the first $7,000 = $7.00.

Total: $3,217.99 on top of wages, or $41,531.59 a year, before workers comp. State disability insurance (1.3%) comes out of the employee's pay, not yours. The City of Los Angeles does not withhold a local income tax. Registration with the EDD is covered in the California payroll tax guide.

Paying Los Angeles workers on time and at the right rate

The July 1 change catches employers who set rates once a year in January. Mark the date, and give each employee a work location in your payroll system so city, county and state rates do not get mixed. Gusto Simple lists $49 a month plus $6 per person (checked October 16, 2026). See how it ranks against others in the best payroll software and what the bill looks like for a full team in payroll costs for 5, 10 and 25 employees.

Check other wages and hours in the employee cost calculator.