Menlo Park minimum wage 2026
The minimum wage in Menlo Park is $17.55 an hour in 2026, $0.65 above the California rate of $16.90. It rises to $18.05 on January 1, 2027. Menlo Park's wage applies only inside the incorporated city, rises each January 1 with San Francisco-area inflation for wage earners, and is capped at 3% a year.
Contents10 sections
At a glance
| Minimum wage now | $17.55 an hour, since January 1, 2026234 |
|---|---|
| Next change | $18.05 on January 1, 2027 (announced)6 |
| Tipped employees | $17.55, the full minimum wage before tips5 |
| Full-time pay | $702 a week, $36,504 a year at 40 hours a week before taxes · calculate for your hours |
| Enforced by | San Mateo County Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement, 1-866-870-7725 |
What to know about the Menlo Park minimum wage
Menlo Park's rate rises to $18.05 an hour on January 1, 2027, an increase of $0.50 that reflects a 2.9% rise in San Francisco-area CPI-W from August 2025 to August 2026.6 The increase is automatic under the ordinance; the City Council could have suspended it for up to one year only by finding that economic conditions justified it, and the staff report for its October 13, 2026 meeting presented the new rate to be received and filed.6
The ordinance, No. 1058, was adopted on September 24, 2019, and started the city wage at $15.00 on January 1, 2020.1 Its 3% annual cap has mattered: in the years behind the 2022, 2023 and 2024 rates, regional CPI-W rose 4.9%, 6.0% and 3.3%, and the cap held each increase down.3 The proposed 2.9% for 2027 falls just under it.
Two boundaries shape coverage. Employers in unincorporated Menlo Park follow San Mateo County's minimum wage instead of the city's. And a worker already paid at or above the new rate on December 31 is not owed a raise when it takes effect.3 Since July 1, 2025, San Mateo County's Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement has handled enforcement for the city, taking over from the City of San Jose.
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 Menlo Park, that is the local rate, but some jobs have a higher statewide minimum (see below the table).
| Minimum wage | Next change | Per hour now |
|---|---|---|
| Menlo Park | $18.05 on January 1, 2027 | $17.55 |
| 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 Menlo Park 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 | $17.55 an hour5 |
California law bars tip credits, so tipped workers get the full city rate before tips.
How the rate changes
City staff report each year's figure, based on the August-to-August change in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward CPI-W (Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers), to the City Council in October (Municipal Code Chapter 5.76), and the posting notice is available by December 1.
Rate history
| Effective | Status | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2027 | Announced Proposed; City Council action set for October 13, 2026 | $18.056 |
| January 1, 2026 | In effect now | $17.55234 |
| January 1, 2025 | $17.1023 | |
| January 1, 2024 | $16.7023 | |
| January 1, 2023 | $16.2023 | |
| January 1, 2022 | $15.7523 | |
| January 1, 2021 | $15.2523 |
Who is covered
Employers in incorporated Menlo Park must pay the city rate to anyone who works two or more hours a week inside city limits.
- Employers must post the city notice, and retaliation against workers who use their rights is prohibited. The county enforcement hotline is 1-866-870-7725.
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
- Alameda$17.76
- San Carlos$17.75
- San Diego$17.75
- Novato$17.73
- 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 | San Mateo County Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement |
|---|---|
| Phone | 1-866-870-7725 |
| The law | Menlo Park Municipal Code Chapter 5.76 (Local Minimum Wage), Ordinance No. 1058 (adopted September 24, 2019) |
| Federal | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 |
Sources
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Is a rate wrong or out of date? Report an error