Fremont minimum wage 2026

What to know about the Fremont minimum wage

Fremont adopted its wage on February 5, 2019, as Municipal Code Chapter 5.30, with separate schedules by employer size. Businesses with 26 or more employees reached $15.00 on July 1, 2020; from July 1, 2021 they paid $15.25 while smaller businesses paid $15.00.⁠⁴ The two tiers merged into a single $16.00 rate on July 1, 2022.

The yearly increase uses the February-to-February change in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose CPI-W, capped at 5% and rounded to the nearest nickel, and takes effect July 1 rather than January 1.⁠⁵ The step on July 1, 2026 was $0.30, to $18.05.⁠¹ The city aims to publish each new figure by April 1, giving employers three months' notice.

The ordinance exempts employees of 501(c)(3) nonprofits and nonprofit educational organizations, so their pay is governed by the state minimum instead. It also covers Welfare-to-Work participants and presumes that any adverse action taken within 90 days of a worker asserting their rights is retaliation.⁠⁵ Employers must post the city bulletin in the five languages most spoken in Fremont and keep payroll records for four years. Complaints go to [email protected], and wage claims can also be filed with the California Labor Commissioner.⁠¹

Rates and changes

Until June 30, 2022 Fremont had two rates: $15.25 for businesses with 26 or more employees and $15.00 for those with 25 or fewer. On July 1, 2022 both moved to a single $16.00 rate, which every covered employer has paid since.

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 Fremont, that is the local rate, but some jobs have a higher statewide minimum (see below the table).

California also sets higher statewide minimums for some jobs, which apply in Fremont 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

Fremont allows no tip credit, and California law bars counting tips toward the minimum, so tipped staff get the full city rate before tips.

How the rate changes

Each July 1 the rate rises by the February-to-February change in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose CPI-W (Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers), capped at 5% and rounded to the nearest five cents; it never falls. The city announces the new rate by April 1.

Rate history

Who is covered

Anyone who works at least two hours in a calendar week inside Fremont and is entitled to the California minimum wage is covered, including Welfare-to-Work participants. Employees of 501(c)(3) nonprofits and nonprofit educational organizations are exempt, and a union contract can waive the ordinance in clear terms.

• The City Council adopted Municipal Code Chapter 5.30 on February 5, 2019; large employers reached $15.00 on July 1, 2020.
• Employers must post the city bulletin in the five languages most spoken in Fremont (the city publishes English, Chinese, Hindi, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese editions), give new hires the employer's contact details in writing and keep payroll records for four years.
• Adverse action within 90 days of a worker asserting their rights is presumed to be retaliation.
• Questions and complaints go to [email protected]; wage claims can also be filed with the California Labor Commissioner.

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
• 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
• Alameda$17.76
• 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.

Sources

1. 1
   City of Fremont, Minimum Wage Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   City of Fremont, Minimum Wage page, Wayback snapshot 2025-07-22 (schedule 2024-2026) (archived copy) Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   City of Fremont, Minimum Wage page, Wayback snapshot 2025-01-05 (schedule 2023-2025) (archived copy) Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   City of Fremont, Minimum Wage page, Wayback snapshot 2022-08-31 (schedule 2019-2022, small/large tiers) (archived copy) Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   City of Fremont (Code Publishing), Fremont Municipal Code Chapter 5.30 Minimum Wage Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   California Department of Industrial Relations, Labor Commissioner's Office, Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑

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