West Hollywood minimum wage 2026
The minimum wage in West Hollywood is $20.25 an hour in 2026, $3.35 above the California rate of $16.90. It rises to $20.94 on January 1, 2027. West Hollywood runs two minimum wages: one for most employees that changes each January 1, and a separate hotel worker rate that changes each July 1.
Contents11 sections
At a glance
| Minimum wage now | $20.25 an hour, since January 1, 20261 |
|---|---|
| Next change | $20.94 on January 1, 2027 (announced)12 |
| Tipped employees | $20.25, the full minimum wage before tips15 |
| Full-time pay | $810 a week, $42,120 a year at 40 hours a week before taxes · calculate for your hours |
| Enforced by | Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, (800) 593-8222 |
What to know about the West Hollywood minimum wage
West Hollywood's City Council approved a citywide minimum wage and guaranteed leave on November 15, 2021 (Ordinance 21-1168), codified as Municipal Code Chapter 5.130.1 The wage phased in from January 2022, with lower rates for businesses with 49 or fewer employees, and became a single $19.08 rate for all business sizes on July 1, 2023.3
In 2024 the council changed course. Ordinance 24-13 postponed the non-hotel increase planned for July 1, 2024 to January 1, 2025 and split the calendar, so non-hotel rates now change each January 1 and hotel rates each July 1.7 Resolution 24-035 ties the non-hotel increase to the average change in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), with a floor of 1% and a cap of 4%.6 The result is $20.25 for 2026 and $20.94 from January 1, 2027.2
Anyone who works on a hotel property, including staff of restaurants leased inside a hotel, is paid the hotel rate instead: $20.87 an hour from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.1
Full-time employees also get 96 paid and 80 unpaid hours a year for sickness, vacation or personal necessity.1 The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs takes complaints at [email protected], and workers can also sue for back pay and penalties of up to $100 per person per day.5 Tips, service charges and medical benefits cannot be credited toward the wage.5
All 2026 rates
The citywide rate in this table applies to all employers except hotels; anyone who works on a hotel property is paid the separate hotel rate instead.
| Rate | Applies to | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Citywide rate (non-hotel) | All employers except hotels, any business size$20.94 from January 1, 202712 | $20.251 |
| Learners | At least 85% of the West Hollywood rate, rounded to the nearest nickel, for the first 160 hours of employment. | See rule1 |
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 West Hollywood, that is the local rate, but some jobs have a higher statewide minimum (see below the table).
| Minimum wage | Next change | Per hour now |
|---|---|---|
| West Hollywood | $20.94 on January 1, 2027 | $20.25 |
| 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 West Hollywood when they exceed the local rate: 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). 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 | $20.25 an hour15 |
Service charges must be shared fairly with the non-managerial employees who served the customer, including back-of-house staff, and disclosed clearly to customers.
How the rate changes
The non-hotel rate changes every January 1 by the average 12-month change, over the prior July to June, in the CPI-W for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Ordinance 24-13 and Resolution 24-035), and the city announces it by October 1. The hotel rate changes each July 1 and is announced by April 1.
The city published the 2027 notice at the end of September 2026; the $20.94 rate applies through December 31, 2027.
Rate history
Who is covered
Any employee who works at least two hours in a week inside West Hollywood and qualifies for the state minimum wage is covered, full-time, part-time or temporary, wherever the employer is based. Government employees, workers whose collective bargaining agreement expressly supersedes the ordinance, and some certified transitional employers are exempt. The City Manager may grant a one-year hardship waiver to a business that would otherwise face bankruptcy or closure, cut its workforce by more than 20%, or cut hours by more than 30%.
- Part-time employees accrue leave pro rata, and unused paid leave carries over up to 192 hours.
- Employers must post the annual notice in English, Spanish and any language spoken by at least 5% of employees, and keep payroll records for at least three years.
- Court penalties of up to $100 per person per day are tripled if the violation is willful, and workers who sue can recover attorneys' fees.
Other local rates in California
- Emeryville$20.34
- 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
- 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 | Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs |
|---|---|
| Phone | (800) 593-8222 |
| The law | West Hollywood Municipal Code Chapter 5.130 (Minimum Wage); Ordinance No. 21-1168 (adopted 2021-11-15); Ordinance No. 24-13 (adopted 2024-05-20); Resolution No. 24-035 (CPI-W index, 1%–4% band) |
| Federal | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 |
Sources
- 1 City of West Hollywood, Minimum Wage Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
- 2
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- 4 City of West Hollywood, July 2024 Minimum Wage Notice Poster (hotel, $19.61) Checked Oct 9, 2026
- 5
- 6
- 7 City of West Hollywood, Ordinance No. 24-13 Amending Section 5.130.020 Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
- 8 City of West Hollywood, City of West Hollywood minimum wage notice, 2025 Checked Oct 9, 2026 · Back to text ↑
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