California to raise minimum wage in 2025: This is the new amount starting today Jan. 1

California is one of 30 states with a minimum wage higher than the federal rate of $7.25 per hour. Already one of the states with the highest minimum salaries in the country, it is implementing another increase in 2025.

The last pay hike took effect on Jan. 1, 2024, when the minimum wage rose to $16 per hour. Starting today, Jan. 1, workers will see their pay checks rise again.

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How much will California’s minimum wage increase in 2025?

There were two options for raising the minimum wage in California this year: voters could approve a proposal to increase it to $18 or follow the current law.

The majority of voters decided not to increase the amount to $18 per hour next year, so the minimum wage hike has been determined in accordance with current legislation.

Current law provides that the minimum wage in California may increase each year by 3.5% or by the rate of change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers or CPI-W averages from the prior year to the current year, whichever is less, unless those averages are negative.

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Last year, the CPI-W comparative data showed changes of 3.18%, so under this legislation, the minimum wage in California will increase to $16.50 as of Jan. 1, 2025.

The minimum wage in California is different for specific industries. For example, the minimum for fast food workers is $20 per hour.

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Thanks to legislation signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2023, the minimum wage increased to $20 per hour for all fast food employees on April 1, 2024. Some cities and counties have set their own amounts above the state rate.

For 2025, more than 20 states have increases scheduled for Jan. 1: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, South Dakota, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

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