Novato minimum wage 2026

What to know about the Novato minimum wage

Novato's City Council adopted Ordinance 1653 on October 8, 2019. Rather than wait for California's statewide schedule, the ordinance pushed every Novato employer to $15.00 in 2022 and kept three employer-size bands in place afterward.⁠¹ The first question for any worker or employer here is therefore how many employees the business has: 100 or more, 26 to 99, or 25 or fewer.

The two larger bands are indexed to Bay Area inflation, capped at 3.5% a year, and on January 1, 2027 they reach $18.25 and $17.97.⁠¹ The smallest band no longer has a separate local figure. Since 2025 it has equaled the state minimum wage, which is why its 2027 rate of $17.40 is the same figure the California Department of Industrial Relations announced for the whole state.⁠² Small employers in Novato therefore follow state announcements rather than city ones.

Coverage starts once someone works more than two hours in a week inside the city limits. Employers must display the official Novato notice, in English and Spanish, where employees can see it.⁠¹ The city publishes the coming year's rates in the autumn and mails a notice with business license renewals. State minimums for particular industries, such as fast food and health care, still apply where they are higher than the Novato band.

All 2026 rates

Which rate applies depends on how many employees the employer has. In 2026 the rates are $17.73 (100 or more employees), $17.46 (26 to 99) and $16.90 (25 or fewer). On January 1, 2027 they become $18.25, $17.97 and $17.40.

The smallest employers have paid exactly the state minimum wage since 2025, so their rate moves whenever the state rate moves. The two larger tiers follow Novato's own inflation formula.

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 Novato, 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 Novato 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

Tipped workers must get the full rate for their employer's size before tips; California (Labor Code section 351) does not allow a tip credit.

How the rate changes

The rates for employers with 26 or more employees rise each January 1 by the change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, capped at 3.5%. The small-employer rate follows the state minimum wage, which uses the national CPI-W with the same 3.5% cap. The city posts the next year's rates in the autumn and mails a notice with business license renewals.

All three 2027 rates are published; the $17.40 small-employer rate is the new California minimum wage.

Rate history

Who is covered

The Novato rates are owed to anyone who works more than two hours in a given week inside Novato city limits. When the state minimum wage is higher than a Novato tier, the state rate applies instead.

• Ordinance 1653, adopted October 8, 2019, sped up the state schedule so that every Novato employer reached $15.00 in 2022.
• Employers must post the official Novato minimum wage notice, in English and Spanish, where employees can see it.
• State minimum wages for particular industries, such as fast food and health care, apply when they are higher than the Novato rate.

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
• 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 Novato, Novato Minimum Wage Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   California Department of Industrial Relations, ICYMI: California's minimum wage set to increase to $17.40 per hour on January 1, 2027 Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑

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