California’s general minimum wage is $16.90 per hour for work performed in 2026, effective January 1. A higher local or covered-industry rate may apply. To check a pay stub, identify where and when the work was performed, determine the worker’s coverage, then compare the applicable rate with the hours and gross earnings. Dividing the bank deposit by hours is not a reliable minimum-wage test.
This guide was reviewed October 9, 2026, and concerns California work performed during 2026. It includes selected local rates, the main health-care schedules, covered fast-food work, two independently calculated examples, salary-exemption boundaries, and a correction checklist. It is not an inventory of every municipal ordinance or a determination of any particular worker’s legal status. The state’s official MW-2026 wage order establishes the general rate and identifies the separate industry provisions.
What is the California minimum wage in 2026?
The statewide general floor is $16.90, regardless of employer size. The old distinction between employers with up to 25 workers and larger employers does not produce a lower general rate in 2026. The 2025 statewide rate was $16.50; using that amount for ordinary covered work performed in 2026 would be outdated. The Labor Commissioner’s minimum-wage FAQ explains statewide coverage and the interaction with stricter local requirements.
An ordinary employment agreement cannot waive the minimum required by applicable law. A minimum wage is a floor, not permission to reduce an agreed higher rate. If an employee was promised $22 per hour, discovering that a legal floor is $16.90 does not establish that $16.90 satisfies the wage agreement. The DIR’s employer wage responsibilities separately address paying the promised rate.
State, city, county and industry coverage must be checked together
The applicable rule depends on the work location and the ordinance’s coverage conditions, not simply the employer’s mailing address or the employee’s home address. A remote employee’s actual work location may matter. A mailing address saying “Los Angeles” does not, by itself, prove that work occurred inside the City of Los Angeles rather than another city or an unincorporated county area.
Where applicable requirements overlap, comply with the higher required minimum. Do not add a city minimum wage to the state rate; the rates are competing floors for the same work, not separate earnings supplements. Check special contract, hotel, airport, public-works or other sector requirements before treating a city’s general rate as the final answer.
| Jurisdiction / general rule | Jan 1–Jun 30 | Jul 1–Dec 31 |
|---|---|---|
| California statewide general floor | $16.90 | $16.90 |
| City of Los Angeles general ordinance | $17.87 | $18.42 |
| San Francisco general ordinance | $19.18 | $19.61 |
The City of Los Angeles’s 2026 official notice confirms $18.42 from July 1 and the preceding $17.87 rate. San Francisco’s official historical-rate sheet confirms $19.61 from July 1, 2026, following $19.18. San Francisco also identifies a narrowly defined government-supported-employee category with separate rates; that exception is not assumed in this table.
These examples are not interchangeable with Los Angeles County’s unincorporated-area rate or every nearby city’s rate. The Los Angeles Office of Wage Standards provides the city’s coverage guidance and separate hotel-worker information. Save the applicable notice and effective date with the payroll records rather than relying on an undated search result.
What are the 2026 minimum wages for fast-food and health-care workers?
Covered fast-food work has a separate $20 floor
The current DIR fast-food wage guidance states a minimum of $20 per hour for employees covered by that law. Coverage generally involves a California limited-service restaurant in a nationwide chain of at least 60 establishments, primarily selling food or beverages for immediate consumption. Franchise operation does not automatically create an exemption.
Not every restaurant or food-service worker qualifies. The definition and exceptions need review, including the specific bakery, grocery and other establishment provisions. Coffee or beverage service can qualify; the business name alone is not the test. A higher general local minimum can still control. Council proposals, worker requests and meeting materials are not themselves an adopted wage increase; use the currently applicable official rule.
Health-care rates depend on the covered facility category
There is no single $25 rate for every California health-care job in 2026. The DIR health-care minimum-wage FAQ, especially its coverage questions and question 12 schedule, identifies different facility groups and effective dates. Covered work can include patient care and services supporting it, such as eligible janitorial, food-service or clerical work. A medical job title is neither necessary nor sufficient by itself.
| Covered facility category | Jan 1–Jun 30 | Jul 1–Dec 31 |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitals / integrated systems with at least 10,000 full-time employees; dialysis clinics; covered large-county facilities | $24.00 | $25.00 |
| Safety-net hospital category; covered small-county facilities | $18.63 | $19.28 |
| Specified intermittent, community and rural clinics, and associated urgent-care clinics | $21.00 | $22.00 |
| Other covered facilities in the general remaining category; covered medium-county facilities | $21.00 | $23.00 |
The category definitions matter. The county groups use the populations and reference date specified in the official schedule; the large-system category is not simply the headcount in one department. A clinic cannot select the cheapest row because it considers itself small. An approved clinic waiver may delay a scheduled increase, and a higher applicable general local floor can still matter.
Coverage also has boundaries. Facilities operated by the State of California are treated differently from covered county, municipal or University of California facilities. Standalone skilled nursing facilities have a conditional implementation provision; the FAQ says the required spending trigger is not currently in place. Contractor and subcontractor employees have additional joint-employment or work-time conditions. Identify the actual facility, employer relationship, work performed and any valid waiver before deciding a rate.
Which pay-stub fields help you check minimum-wage compliance?
Review the earning calculation before the tax and benefit deductions. The DIR wage-statement guidance describes the required information, including gross and net wages, applicable hourly rates and corresponding hours, deductions, and the covered pay-period dates. A bank deposit does not replace that statement, even when wages are paid electronically or in cash.
- Dates: identify the dates covered by the statement and match work records to any rate-change date. The payment date alone is not enough.
- Hours: compare recorded compensable time with the hours paid. A correct displayed rate does not fix missing work time.
- Rates: inspect each applicable hourly rate, including regular, overtime and double-time categories when relevant.
- Gross earnings: check the multiplication and the treatment of other compensation before evaluating deductions.
- Adjustments: identify prior-period corrections and confirm which dates and hours they repair.
Use daily time records as well as the pay-period total. Required meetings, work before clock-in, or other unrecorded compensable duties can create an hours problem even when every printed rate looks correct. Whether particular travel, waiting, on-call or training time is compensable requires its own factual review; do not silently drop those periods from the calculation.
Gross earnings, taxable wages and take-home pay serve different purposes. A lawful tax or benefit deduction can make net pay divided by hours fall below the minimum wage without establishing a wage-rate violation. Conversely, a high net deposit does not prove that every hour was paid correctly. See our gross versus taxable wages guide, net-pay calculation guide, and California withholding and CASDI guide for those separate calculations.
Tips and deductions need their own review
California does not permit an employer to use employees’ tips to satisfy the minimum wage. The DIR tip guidance distinguishes tips from the employer’s wage obligation. A statement showing $15 in employer-paid hourly wages plus enough tips to exceed $16.90 does not satisfy the ordinary California wage floor on that reasoning.
Meals or lodging are different from tips: limited credits may be permitted under the applicable wage order, subject to required voluntary written agreement and caps. MW-2026 contains the current general credit amounts. Do not assume the value of free food, a uniform, or accommodation can simply be subtracted from the required cash wage.
Likewise, a signed deduction authorization does not make every employer charge lawful. The DIR deduction guidance describes restrictions on passing business losses or costs to employees. Check a questioned deduction separately from the earnings calculation. Our pre-tax and post-tax guide explains tax treatment; it is not a legal authorization for a deduction.
What if a minimum-wage increase falls inside the pay period?
Separate the hours by the rate effective when the work was performed. A single pay period can properly contain two regular hourly rates. A check issued after an increase does not automatically make all earlier work payable at the new statutory floor, and a pay period that began before the increase does not preserve the old floor for later work.
Consider a fictional employee covered by the City of Los Angeles general ordinance. Assume eight compensable hours on June 30, 2026, and eight on July 1, with no other work, overtime, higher industry or contractual rate, credits, premiums or other earnings in this example. The two earning lines are:
| Work date | Hours | Hourly rate | Gross earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 30, 2026 | 8 | $17.87 | $142.96 |
| July 1, 2026 | 8 | $18.42 | $147.36 |
| Total for these two days | 16 | — | $290.32 |
The arithmetic is 8 × $17.87 + 8 × $18.42 = $290.32. Paying all 16 hours at $17.87 would give $285.92, leaving a $4.40 gross shortfall: eight post-increase hours multiplied by the $0.55 difference. This calculates unpaid gross earnings only, not interest, penalties, damages, tax withholding or final net pay.
Work at multiple locations can also create multiple applicable rates, but the overtime calculation may require a separate regular-rate analysis. Do not treat this two-day, no-overtime example as a universal method for a mixed-rate workweek. Our two-rate pay-stub guide explains how to keep distinct earning lines readable.
How does California’s minimum wage affect overtime in 2026?
Overtime is generally calculated from the regular rate, which cannot be below the applicable minimum wage. Under ordinary California rules, time-and-a-half generally applies after eight hours in a workday, after 40 in a workweek, and to the first eight hours on the seventh consecutive workday in a workweek. Double time generally applies after 12 hours in a workday and after eight hours on that seventh day. The DIR overtime FAQ explains the rules, exceptions and regular-rate calculation.
A two-week pay period does not create permission to average a long week against a short one. Daily overtime also means a worker can earn overtime before reaching 40 weekly hours. Valid alternative workweeks, certain collective-bargaining arrangements, agricultural work and other statutory exceptions need their own rules; apply the ordinary method only when it fits.
A complete fictional five-day workweek
Assume an adult nonexempt employee works nine compensable hours on each of Monday through Friday in one ordinary 2026 California workweek, with no weekend work. The applicable minimum and actual regular rate are both $16.90. Assume no higher local or industry rate, bonuses, differentials, commissions, alternative workweek, credits or special exception.
Each day contains eight regular hours and one time-and-a-half overtime hour. The week therefore contains 40 regular hours and five overtime hours, not 45 regular hours plus five more hours. These five daily overtime hours are not counted a second time to create another five weekly premiums.
| Earnings line | Hours | Hourly rate | Gross earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular hours | 40 | $16.90 | $676.00 |
| Time-and-a-half overtime | 5 | $25.35 | $126.75 |
| Total actual hours / gross pay | 45 | — | $802.75 |
Correct gross is $676 + $126.75 = $802.75. If payroll mistakenly retained the old $16.50 regular rate and $24.75 overtime rate for this same 2026 workweek, it would produce $660 + $123.75 = $783.75. The gross difference is $19: $16 for the 40 regular hours and $3 for the five overtime hours. Updating the regular line while leaving overtime at the old rate would still underpay the worker.
The actual regular rate can exceed the displayed base rate because of includible bonuses or other remuneration. An employer paying $22 as the applicable regular rate cannot use $16.90 solely to calculate overtime. Nor does a federal deduction for qualifying overtime eliminate California’s overtime payment duty or make all daily overtime eligible for that deduction. Our overtime tax-deduction guide explains that separate federal question.
Does the 2026 minimum wage affect salaried employees?
A salary does not automatically establish an overtime exemption. For the ordinary California executive, administrative or professional exemptions, the general salary threshold tied to the state minimum is $70,304 annually in 2026: $16.90 × 2 × 40 × 52. The DIR 2026 wage announcement confirms that amount as an initial salary requirement, not a complete exemption test.
The worker must also satisfy the relevant duties and other requirements. A managerial title, monthly payment, or salary above the threshold cannot substitute for that analysis. The general state-based threshold is not automatically recalculated using every city’s higher general minimum. Specialized exemptions, such as qualifying computer professionals, can have separate compensation requirements. See the DIR exemption guidance.
Industry rules also change the salary analysis. The fast-food FAQ ties covered managers’ salary thresholds to the applicable fast-food minimum; a full-time $20-based calculation is $83,200 annually, subject to the actual coverage and duties requirements. For covered health-care workers to qualify for the applicable salary exemption, the salary generally must reach the greater of 1.5 times the applicable health-care minimum or twice the general state minimum, plus the duties test. For a covered $25 health-care rate, 1.5 × $25 × 40 × 52 gives $78,000, greater than $70,304. Do not use the health-care FAQ’s older $16.50 statewide salary example as a 2026 calculation.
A salaried nonexempt employee still requires the applicable minimum-wage and overtime review. See our salary versus hourly guide and exempt versus nonexempt guide before deciding that no hourly-rate check is necessary.
How do you address a suspected minimum-wage underpayment?
Build a dated comparison that identifies the specific missing gross wages. Preserve the original statement rather than changing its rate or hours to make it appear correct. A replacement document without the corresponding wage payment does not repair an actual underpayment.
- Confirm coverage: record the worksite, dates, employer, duties, industry and any claimed exemption or waiver. Save the official rate notice for that period.
- Reconcile the hours: compare daily time records, schedules and the statement. Identify rate changes, missing work and overtime categories.
- Calculate the difference: separate regular-rate shortfalls, overtime adjustments and questioned deductions. State the assumptions; do not automatically label a net-pay difference unpaid wages.
- Ask payroll for an explanation and correction: specify the affected dates, paid rate, required rate and calculation. Request the corrected statement and evidence of any additional payment.
- Verify the result: confirm that the correction covers every affected period, updates relevant payroll records, and pays the amount actually owed. Check taxes separately from the gross-wage correction.
Employers should update the rate table, applicable industry/local settings and overtime calculation together, then review other affected employees and pay periods. Keep old effective dates for historical work rather than overwriting the entire rate history. Update required notices and posters under the applicable rules. A pay-stub generator is a document tool; accurate inputs and actual payment remain essential. Our worked pay-stub preparation guide explains the record-based approach.
If the issue remains unresolved, the Labor Commissioner’s wage-claim instructions explain how to seek unpaid wages. Local enforcement may also be available under the applicable ordinance. The DIR filing page lists three years for minimum-wage and overtime violations. Other claims or remedies can have different limits, so check promptly rather than waiting indefinitely while records are discussed. Do not assume a single automatic penalty amount. Workers have protections against retaliation for asserting wage rights, as described in the minimum-wage FAQ.
Quick answers about California minimum wage and pay stubs
Does a small California business get a lower 2026 minimum wage?
No separate small-employer general rate applies in 2026. The statewide general floor is $16.90, subject to lawful coverage exceptions and higher applicable requirements.
Can a teenager or new employee automatically be paid less?
Age alone does not establish a lower California minimum. The state recognizes a narrow learner provision for qualifying inexperienced workers during their first 160 hours, using 85% of the minimum rounded to the nearest nickel. That is not a general probationary rate, and a local or industry requirement may prevent using it. Verify the specific exception before applying any reduced rate.
Must every California employee receive $20 or $25 per hour?
No. The $20 fast-food rule and the health-care schedules have coverage tests. Some employees have higher local or other requirements, while ordinary covered work without a higher floor uses $16.90 in 2026.
Does a paycheck below $16.90 per hour after taxes prove underpayment?
No. Compare compensable hours and required gross wages first, then review whether deductions are lawful. Net pay is the remaining cash after deductions, not the statutory hourly wage rate.
Should July’s higher local rate apply to work performed in June?
The required floor follows the effective date for the work. A later check date does not automatically apply the new statutory rate to earlier work. A higher agreement or another applicable rule can independently require more.
Can a higher year-to-date earnings total fix a current low rate?
A YTD total does not establish that the particular hours were paid correctly. Check the affected work dates, earning categories and applicable rules. Overtime, bonuses and multiple-rate arrangements may need a more detailed calculation than an overall annual average.
Scope note: These are general 2026 California wage checks, not individualized legal advice or a complete analysis of every locality, occupation or exemption. The examples calculate specified gross earnings only; they do not determine final tax, benefits, damages or every amount that might be recoverable.