California Fast Food Minimum Wage 2025: Statewide and Local Updates

The California fast food minimum wage will rise to $20 per hour in April 2025, affecting many workers statewide. Local minimum wage rates also vary across California cities, with some surpassing the new state baseline.

By Brad Nakase, Attorney

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. California Fast-Food Workers’ Minimum Wage in 2025

3. Under the new law, who are considered “fast food establishment employees”?

4. Local Minimum Wage in California, 2025

Introduction

California’s minimum wage increased to $16.50 per hour, regardless of the size of the employer, as of January 1, 2025.

As a result of this revision, the minimum pay for white-collar exempt workers is now $68,640 or $5,720 a month. To determine whether the compensation offered and the duties performed by the workers covered by these exemptions satisfy the exemption standards, there is a need for an audit of the workers.

Notably, many professions like computer software developers are exempted from California’s minimum salary requirements.

California Fast-Food Workers’ Minimum Wage in 2025

In a major shift, the California fast food minimum wage will be $20 per hour starting April 1, 2025, thanks to Assembly Bill 1228

Under the new law, who are considered “fast food establishment employees”?

The only people covered by the law are “fast food restaurant” employees. A restaurant must fulfill ALL of the following requirements in order to be classified as a fast food establishment, according to the Department of Industrial Relations’ frequently asked questions:

In California, the restaurant needs to be a “limited-service restaurant.” A restaurant with little or no service for tables is one where patrons place orders for food and drink and pay for them before they are consumed.
The eatery is a member of a company that has at least 60 locations around the country. A single restaurant that serves food or drinks to patrons is called an establishment. Companies that only handle administrative, warehousing, or food preparation tasks are not considered “establishments” for the purposes of the 60 establishment requirement.
The restaurant’s main business is providing meals and drinks that can be consumed right away.

This marks a historic moment for fast food workers, as the California fast food minimum wage is now among the highest in the country.

Local Minimum Wage in California, 2025

Although the California fast food minimum wage is getting a lot of attention, it’s important to know that cities and counties may set higher minimum wages for all industries. The employee-benefitting rate must be paid by the employer.

The minimum wage rates for each local jurisdiction in 2025 are shown in the lists below.

Jurisdiction	Small Employers (twenty-five or lesser Employees)	Large Employers (Over 26 Employees)
Alameda	$17.00	$17.00
Belmont	$18.30	$18.30
Berkeley	$18.67	$18.67
Burlingame	$17.43	$17.43
Cupertino	$18.20	$18.20
Daly City	$17.07	$17.07
East Palo Alto	$17.45	$17.45
El Cerrito	$18.34	$18.34
Emeryville	$19.36	$19.36
Foster City	$17.39	$17.39
Fremont	$17.30	$17.30
Glendale	$16.50 or $20.32 an hour for hotels having sixty or more rooms	$16.50 or $20.32 an hour for hotels having sixty or more rooms
Half Moon Bay	$17.47	$17.47
Hayward	$16.50	$17.36
Long Beach	$16.50 or $23.00 (Hotel Workers)	$16.50 or $23.00 (Hotel Workers)
Los Altos	$18.20	$18.20
Los Angeles (City)	$17.28 or $20.32 an hour for hotels having sixty or more rooms	$17.28 or $20.32 an hour for hotels having sixty or more rooms
Los Angeles (Unincorporated Areas of County)	$17.27	$17.27
Malibu	$17.27	$17.27
Menlo Park	$17.10	$17.10
Milpitas	$17.70	$17.70
Mountain View	$19.20	$19.20
Novato	$16.42	$17.00 ($17.27 for Larger employers (over 100 Employees)
Oakland	$16.98 or $18.36 for hotel employees having Health Benefits $24.48 for hotel employees having no Health Benefits	$16.98 or $18.36 for hotel employees having Health Benefits $24.48 for hotel employees having no Health Benefits
Palo Alto	$18.20	$18.20
Pasadena	$17.50	$17.50
Petaluma	$17.97	$17.97
Redwood City	$18.20	$18.20
Richmond	$17.77	$17.77
Sacramento	$16.50	$16.50
San Carlos	$17.32	$17.32
San Diego	$17.25	$17.25
San Francisco	$18.67	$18.67
San Jose	$17.95	$17.95
San Leandro	$16.50	$16.50
San Mateo	$17.95	$17.95
San Mateo County (Unincorporated)	$17.46	$17.46
Santa Clara	$18.20	$18.20
Santa Monica	$17.27 or $20.32 for businesses and hotels operating on the property of a hotel	$17.27 or $20.32 for businesses and hotels operating on the property of a hotel
Santa Rosa	$17.87	$17.87
Sonoma	$16.96	$18.02
South San Francisco	$17.70	$17.70
Sunnyvale	$19.00	$19.00
West Hollywood	$19.65 or $19.61 (hotel employees)	$19.65 or $19.61 (hotel employees)

While general wages are rising, the California fast food minimum wage has been a major topic of discussion due to its industry-specific focus. Fast-food jobs are often entry-level or part-time, making them particularly sensitive to wage changes. By implementing the California fast food minimum wage increase, lawmakers aim to create more livable incomes without waiting for broader federal action. Ongoing monitoring will be important to gauge the real-world effects of the California fast food minimum wage on the economy.

Always make sure this article contains the most recent information by double-checking the minimum wage in your region, which is determined by the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act).

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