Los Angeles minimum wage in 2026
This is the minimum wage of the City of Los Angeles, not of Los Angeles County. It is set by city law, the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Los Angeles Municipal Code Sections 187 and 188). The city’s Office of Wage Standards says employers “must pay hourly minimum wage and provide paid sick leave for hours worked within the geographic boundaries of the City,” so work elsewhere in the county is not covered by it. The city’s page links a Check City Boundaries tool for finding out whether an address is inside the city.
The city’s page says the ordinance covers “any individual who in any particular week performs at least two (2) hours of work within the geographic boundaries of the City of Los Angeles for any Employer and is entitled to earn the California minimum wage,” “regardless of immigration status or employment status whether the Employee is full-time, part-time, temporary, etc.” The rate changes each July 1. The city says “The adjusted rate will be announced on February 1st of each year and become effective on July 1st of each year,” based on the Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles area.
Los Angeles also has a Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance, with its own wage rates for hotel workers. This page does not cover it.
The Office of Wage Standards enforces the city’s minimum wage. To complain, use the online complaint form on the city’s page, or fill out its MW-4 complaint form and send it by email or mail. The office’s email is wagesla@lacity.org and its phone number is 1-844-WAGESLA, (844) 924-3752. Its office is at 1149 S Broadway, Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90015, and walk-in consultations are “by appointment only.” The city says “No matter their immigration status, Employees can file a complaint without fear of retaliation,” and “The OWS will not ask a complainant or Employee their legal or immigration status”. An employee may also “file a civil court action.” The page is the city’s Office of Wage Standards page.
Is your pay below the minimum?
Enter your hourly pay before tips. In California, tips can't count toward the minimum wage.
If Los Angeles's minimum wage law covers your job, the city's $18.42 applies, and paying less than the applicable minimum is unlawful (Labor Code § 1197). See Los Angeles's page for who it covers.
Your hourly pay meets Los Angeles's minimum for most workers. Fast food workers at national chains have a higher statewide minimum of $20.00. Some covered health care workers have higher rates, by facility type. Hotel workers at covered hotels have a higher city rate. Overtime, breaks and pay stubs have their own rules.
Rates by type of work
| Who | How sure | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Most workers in Los Angelessince Jul 1, 2026Rate: City of Los AngelesLabor Code § 1197 | Depends on facts | $18.42 |
| California minimum wage, statewidesince Jan 1, 2026Labor Code § 1182.12 | Settled by law | $16.90 |
| Fast food workers at national chains (more than 60 locations); some locations excludedsince Apr 1, 2024Labor Code § 1474§ 1475(d)(2)(A) | Depends on facts | $20.00 |
| Health care workers | Depends on facts | By facility type |
| Tipped workers and servers | Settled by law | Same as everyone |
Who the city rate covers
Los Angeles sets its own minimum wage by city law. State law makes a local minimum wage binding. The Labor Code says the minimum wage “fixed by the commission or by any applicable state or local law, is the minimum wage to be paid to employees, and the payment of a lower wage than the minimum so fixed is unlawful” (Labor Code § 1197).
Los Angeles’s own law decides who it covers; the Los Angeles details above quote the city’s summary of it. Check Los Angeles’s page, linked above.
The state minimum wage applies too. When the two differ, the Labor Commissioner says that “if a local entity (city or county) has adopted a higher minimum wage, employees must be paid the local wage where it is higher than the state or federal minimum wage rates.”
Some jobs have a higher state minimum wage. The Labor Commissioner says “There is a higher minimum wage for Fast Food Workers, effective April 1, 2024, and a higher minimum wage for certain Health Care Workers.” This page covers the city rate and the state rules that apply everywhere.
Tips and the minimum wage
Tips do not count toward the minimum wage in California. This is state law, so it applies in Los Angeles.
- Your employer may not “require an employee to credit the amount, or any part thereof, of a gratuity against and as a part of the wages due” (Labor Code § 351(a)).
- Your employer may not “collect, take, or receive any gratuity or a part thereof,” or take money from your wages because of tips.
- “Every gratuity is hereby declared to be the sole property of the employee or employees to whom it was paid, given, or left for.”
- Tips paid by credit card must be paid to you in full, “without any deductions for any credit card payment processing fees,” and “not later than the next regular payday” after the customer paid.
Since January 1, 2026, the law also says “The Labor Commissioner may investigate and issue a citation or file a civil action for gratuities taken or withheld” (§ 351(b)).
If you’re paid less
Paying less than the minimum wage that applies to you “is unlawful” (Labor Code § 1197). An agreement to work for less does not cancel unpaid minimum wages. The law on recovering them applies “notwithstanding any agreement to work for a lesser wage” (§ 1194(a)).
- Track your hours. The Labor Commissioner says to “Write down the time you begin and end work every day,” along with your breaks and total hours.
- Keep every pay stub. Compare your hourly pay with the Los Angeles rate for the dates you worked.
- Check with the city. The Los Angeles details near the top of this page link the city’s page and name its enforcement office.
- File a wage claim with the state. The Labor Commissioner’s Office says “Workers in California have the right to file a wage claim when their employers do not pay them the wages or benefits they are owed.” Its page says to file “Within three years for violations of minimum wage.” See its How to File a Wage Claim page.
- Know that complaining is protected. An employer may not fire or retaliate against you because you “made a written or oral complaint that they are owed unpaid wages” (Labor Code § 98.6(a)).
This page covers state law and the city’s rate. It is legal information, not legal advice.