The median pay of child care workers in Los Angeles County in 2018 was $13.00 per hour. Image courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In 1981, the California minimum wage was $3.35/hour. 40 years later, it will soon be at least $14.00/hour and, in some Los Angeles County locations, even higher. Today, it would take $10.07 to purchase what could be purchased with the minimum pay for an hour 40 years ago, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator. This means that current minimum wage rates in Los Angeles County are beginning to push past inflation in value. However, before we begin celebrating, it should be noted that, even with a $15/hour full-time job, current fair market rent for a one-bedroom in Los Angeles County would consume about 90 percent of your pre-tax income.
In May 2022, supporters of a California ballot iniative to increase the statewide minimum wage to $18/hour submitted enough voter signatures to place the initiative on the November 2022 ballot. If voters pass the iniative - and the chances are good that will happen - it would increase the minimum wage in California to $16/hour, beginning on January 1, 2023. The minimum wage would subsequently increase by $1 in the following years, until reaching $18/hour on January 1, 2028. Each California incorporated city may, by local ordinance, set higher minimums.
In November 2022, a ballot measure will be before voters in Inglewood and Duarte that proposes to raise the minimum wage for healthcare workers in the city to $25 per hour.
The following table applies to everywhere in Los Angeles County except the cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Malibu, Pasadena, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and unincorporated areas of the county. The State of California mimimum wage applies to all locations that have not enacted a mimimum wage ordinance of their own. Although the state minumum wage also applies to most workers in Downey and Monterey Park, these cities are in the process of implementing new minimum wage ordinances (along with Los Angeles and Long Beach) specifically for healthcare workers in their cities.
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Employers with 25 Employees or Less | Employers with 26+ Employees |
---|---|---|
Jan. 1, 2018 | $10.50 | $11.00 |
Jan. 1, 2019 | $11.00 | $12.00 |
Jan. 1, 2020 | $12.00 | $13.00 |
Jan. 1, 2021 | $13.00 | $14.00 |
Jan. 1, 2022 | $14.00 | $15.00 |
Jan. 1, 2023 (Projected) | $15.50 | $15.50 |
Source: State of California Dept. of Industrial Relations
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Employers with 25 Employees or Less | Employers with 26+ Employees |
---|---|---|
July 1, 2018 | $12.00 | $13.25 |
July 1, 2019 | $13.25 | $14.25 |
July 1, 2020 | $14.25 | $15.00 |
July 1, 2021 | $15.00 | $15.00 |
July 1, 2022 | $15.96 | $15.96 |
Source: County of Los Angeles
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Healthcare Workers |
---|---|
-In 2022, Pending Final Action by City- | $25.00 |
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Employers with 25 Employees or Less | Employers with 26+ Employees |
---|---|---|
Jan. 1, 2018 | $10.50 | $11.00 |
Jan. 1, 2019 | $11.00 | $12.00 |
Jan. 1, 2020 | $12.00 | $13.00 |
Jan. 1, 2021 | $13.00 | $14.00 |
Jan. 1, 2022 | $14.00 | $15.00 |
Jan. 1, 2023 | $15.00 | $15.00 |
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Hotel Employers |
---|---|
July 1, 2018 | $14.64 |
July 1, 2019 | $14.97 |
July 1, 2020 | $15.47 |
July 1, 2021 | $15.69 |
July 1, 2022 | $16.73 |
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Concession Employers |
---|---|
July 1, 2018 | $14.37 |
July 1, 2019 | $14.72 |
July 1, 2020 | $15.30 |
July 1, 2021 | $15.32 |
July 1, 2022 | $16.55 |
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Healthcare Workers |
---|---|
-In 2022, Pending Final Action by City- | $25.00 |
Source: City of Long Beach
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Employers with 25 Employees or Less (or Non-profits with 26+ Employees & Approval to Pay a Deferred Rate) | Employers with 26+ Employees |
---|---|---|
July 1, 2018 | $12.00 | $13.35 |
July 1, 2019 | $13.35 | $14.25 |
July 1, 2020 | $14.25 | $15.00 |
July 1, 2021 | $15.00 | $15.00 |
July 1, 2022 | $16.04 | $16.04 |
Minimum wage rates are per hour. If no health benefit is paid, health benefit is added to wage.
Effective Date | Wage | Health Benefit |
---|---|---|
July 1, 2018 | $13.75 | $5.24 |
July 1, 2019 | $15.25 | $5.34 |
July 1, 2020 | $16.50 | $5.55 |
July 1, 2021 | $17.00 | $5.67 |
July 1, 2022 | $18.04 | $5.77 |
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Hotel Employers with 150+ Rooms |
---|---|
July 1, 2018 | $16.10 |
July 1, 2019 | $16.63 |
July 1, 2020 | $17.13 |
July 1, 2021 | $17.64 |
July 1, 2022 | $18.17 |
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Healthcare Workers |
---|---|
August 13, 2022 | $25.00 |
Source: City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles World Airports
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Employers with 25 Employees or Less | Employers with 26+ Employees |
---|---|---|
July 1, 2018 | $12.00 | $13.25 |
July 1, 2019 | $13.35 | $14.25 |
July 1, 2020 | $14.25 | $15.00 |
July 1, 2021 | $15.00 | $15.00 |
July 1, 2022 | $15.96 | $15.96 |
Source: City of Malibu
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Healthcare Workers |
---|---|
-In 2022, Pending Final Action by City- | $25.00 |
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Employers with 25 Employees or Less | Employers with 26+ Employees |
---|---|---|
July 1, 2018 | $12.00 | $13.35 |
July 1, 2019 | $13.35 | $14.25 |
July 1, 2020 | $14.25 | $15.00 |
July 1, 2021 | $15.00 | $15.00 |
July 1, 2022 | $16.11 | $16.11 |
Source: City of Pasadena
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Employers with 25 Employees or Less | Employers with 26+ Employees |
---|---|---|
July 1, 2018 | $12.00 | $13.25 |
July 1, 2019 | $13.25 | $14.25 |
July 1, 2020 | $14.25 | $15.00 |
July 1, 2021 | $15.00 | $15.00 |
July 1, 2022 | $15.96 | $15.96 |
Source: City of Santa Monica
West Hollywood followed State of California minimum wage guidelines through 2021.
Minimum wage rates are per hour.
Effective Date | Hotel Employerss | Employers with 49 Employees or Less | Employers with 50+ Employees |
---|---|---|---|
December 31, 2021 | $14.00 | $13.00 | $14.00 |
January 1, 2022 | $17.64 | $15.00 | $15.50 |
July 1, 2022 | $18.35 | $16.00 | $16.50 |
January 1, 2023 | $18.35 | $17.00 | $17.50 |
July 1, 2023 | $18.86* | $18.86* | $18.86* |
* Estimated minimum wage; actual wage determined by cost of living adjustment for that year.
Source: City of West Hollywood