Minimum wage in California in 2020 is $12 an hour if a business has up to 25 employees. This new wage took effect January 1, 2020. Businesses with over 25 employees must pay workers $13 an hour.
In California, some counties such as Los Angeles County, and some cities in the Bay Area decided on their own higher hourly minimum wage. In Los Angeles County the 2020 minimum wage is $13.25. In some Bay Area cities the minimum wage is $15.59.
In San Diego, the 2020 minimum wage is $13.00 an hour.
In 2019 the minimum wage in California was $11 an hour. California minimum wage is slated to rise to $15 in two years.
Minimum wage varies by state
Each state determines its own minimum wage. This is done through the state legislature or via ballot measures where voters decide. However, there is a federal minimum wage and this is $7.25 an hour. This has not changed since 2009. Workers are entitled to the federal wage if a state doesn’t have a minimum wage law or its minimum wage is lower than the federal law.
The lowest and the highest minimum wage
Both Georgia and Wyoming have their minimum wage set at $5.15 an hour. With the federal minimum wage at $7.25, this means employers in those states will have to pay employees the federal rate, regardless of the set state rate.
Washington D.C. has a mid-year 2020 minimum wage of $15 an hour. Washington state’s 2020 minimum wage is $13.50 an hour. California’s $13 an hour for large businesses puts it at number 3 for highest state minimum wage.