Alameda minimum wage 2026
The minimum wage in Alameda is $17.76 an hour in 2026, $0.86 above the California rate of $16.90. Alameda's wage changes on July 1 rather than January 1 and applies to employers of every size, with each yearly increase capped at 5%.
Contents10 sections
At a glance
| Minimum wage now | $17.76 an hour, since July 1, 202621 |
|---|---|
| Next change | The July 1, 2027 figure depends on inflation from February 2026 to February 2027 and is expected in spring 2027. |
| Tipped employees | $17.76, the full minimum wage before tips24 |
| Full-time pay | $710 a week, $36,941 a year at 40 hours a week before taxes · calculate for your hours |
| Enforced by | City of Alameda, Base Reuse and Economic Development Department, 510-747-6859 |
What to know about the Alameda minimum wage
Alameda had no wage of its own until the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 3226 N.S. (Municipal Code Chapter 4-60) on October 16, 2018.4 The first city rate, $13.50, took effect July 1, 2019, and the wage reached $15.00 on July 1, 2020. It then held at $15.00 until July 1, 2022, when yearly cost-of-living increases began.1
The calendar is the detail most often missed. Alameda adjusts on July 1, not January 1, using the change in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose CPI-W from one February to the next, and the ordinance caps each increase at 5%.1 The July 1, 2026 step was $0.30, from $17.46 to $17.76.2 Only hours worked inside city limits count, so a worker who spends part of the week outside Alameda earns the city rate only for the Alameda hours.
The program is run by the Base Reuse and Economic Development Department at 950 West Mall Square. Workers can complain to [email protected], and the city can order back wages plus civil penalties of $50 per day, paid both to each affected employee and to the city.3 Employers must display the annual notice, which the city issues in seven languages, and the notice reminds them that a higher state rate, such as California's fast food minimum, takes precedence where it applies.2
Compared with California
When a local minimum wage, the state minimum wage and the federal minimum wage differ, the employer must pay the highest one that applies to the work. For most covered work in Alameda, that is the local rate, but some jobs have a higher statewide minimum (see below the table).
| Minimum wage | Next change | Per hour now |
|---|---|---|
| Alameda | Due July 1, 2027, amount not announced | $17.76 |
| California (state) | $17.40 on January 1, 2027 | $16.90 |
| Federal | None scheduled | $7.25 |
California also sets higher statewide minimums for some jobs, which apply in Alameda when they exceed the local rate: Fast food restaurant employees ($20.00); Health care: large systems, dialysis clinics and large-county facilities ($25.00); Health care: community, rural and intermittent clinics ($22.00); Health care: other covered facilities ($23.00); Health care: safety net hospitals and small-county facilities ($19.28). See the California page for the rules.
Tipped employees
| Tip credit | Not allowed: tips are on top of the full minimum wage |
|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $17.76 an hour24 |
Tips cannot be counted toward the Alameda minimum, so tipped staff get the full city rate before tips.
How the rate changes
A fall in prices does not lower the rate, and the city publishes the new rate and posting notice in the spring before it takes effect.
Rate history
Who is covered
Anyone who works at least two hours in a workweek inside Alameda city limits must get the city rate for that work: full- or part-time, resident or not, under 18 or undocumented, whatever the employer's size. The employer's parents, spouse and children are not covered, nor are app-based rideshare drivers regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission; taxi drivers are covered.
- Employers must keep payroll records for four years.
- Employers may not cut benefits or raise charges for parking, meals or uniforms to offset the wage.
Other local rates in California
- Emeryville$20.34
- West Hollywood$20.25
- Mountain View$19.70
- Berkeley$19.61
- San Francisco$19.61
- Sunnyvale$19.50
- Richmond$19.18
- Belmont$18.95
- El Cerrito$18.82
- Cupertino$18.70
- Los Altos$18.70
- Palo Alto$18.70
- Santa Clara$18.70
- Redwood City$18.65
- San Mateo$18.60
- Pasadena$18.57
- Milpitas$18.50
- Los Angeles County (unincorporated areas)$18.47
- Santa Monica$18.47
- Sonoma$18.47
- San Jose$18.45
- Los Angeles$18.42
- Petaluma$18.31
- Santa Rosa$18.21
- South San Francisco$18.15
- Fremont$18.05
- San Mateo County (unincorporated areas)$17.95
- Half Moon Bay$17.91
- Malibu$17.91
- East Palo Alto$17.90
- Burlingame$17.86
- Foster City$17.85
- Hayward$17.79
- San Carlos$17.75
- San Diego$17.75
- Novato$17.73
- Menlo Park$17.55
- Daly City$17.50
- Oakland$17.34
Everywhere else in California, the state rate applies.
Get help or file a claim
If you are paid less than the minimum wage that applies to your job, you can file a wage claim with the agency below. Federal law prohibits firing or otherwise retaliating against a worker for complaining about federal minimum wage rights.
| Agency | City of Alameda, Base Reuse and Economic Development Department |
|---|---|
| Phone | 510-747-6859 |
| The law | Alameda Municipal Code Chapter 4-60 (Minimum Wage), Ordinance No. 3226 N.S., adopted October 16, 2018 |
| Federal | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 |
Sources
- 1 City of Alameda, Minimum Wage Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
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