California Minimum Wage 2026: How Much You Take Home After Taxes

If you searched "California minimum wage 2026," you probably already found the number: $16.90 an hour. But that figure is your gross pay — what your employer owes you before any deductions. What you actually take home, after federal and state taxes, is a different number, and it's the one that matters for your budget. (If the two terms are new to you, our gross pay vs. net pay explainer walks through the difference.)

This guide covers where the $16.90 comes from, why it changes every year, what exceptions apply, and — most importantly — how much it really is after taxes, based on how you get paid.

What is California's minimum wage in 2026?

Since January 1, 2026, California's general minimum wage has been $16.90 per hour. It applies to employers of every size, under Labor Code §1182.12.

It's not a fixed number — it has risen every year since Senate Bill 3 (2016), first through scheduled increases and, since reaching $15, through an automatic inflation adjustment:

Why does it go up every year?

Every year, the state checks how much prices went up nationwide over the 12 months ending June 30 — like noticing your grocery bill costs more for the same basket of food as last year — and raises the minimum wage by about that much, rounded to the nearest 10 cents, so it doesn't lose value. There's a cap: the automatic yearly adjustment can't be more than 3.5%, no matter how high inflation runs.

For 2026, prices from July 2024 to June 2025 rose less than the 3.5% cap, so the minimum wage went up by about the same amount as prices: from $16.50 to $16.90, or 40 cents more per hour (California DIR).

Already announced: on January 1, 2027, the statewide minimum wage goes up to $17.40 per hour (California Department of Industrial Relations). The examples on this page use the 2026 rate.

Exceptions: when the minimum is different

$16.90 is the general rule, but some workers have a different minimum. The most common cases:

• Fast food workers at large chains (more than 60 locations nationwide): $20.00/hour since April 2024, under its own law (AB 1228). At independent restaurants or chains with 60 or fewer locations, the regular minimum applies.
• Health care workers: $19.28 to $25.00/hour since July 1, 2026, depending on the type of facility (SB 525); lower rates applied from January to June.
• Cities and counties with their own ordinance: several California localities, especially in the Bay Area and Southern California, require a minimum above the state rate — for example San Francisco ($19.61/hour) or Emeryville ($20.34/hour) since July 1, 2026. If you work in one of these cities, you're generally entitled to the higher local minimum (some cities set a lower rate for small employers).

There are also a few narrow exceptions. For example, "learners" with no experience in that kind of job can be paid 85% of the minimum during their first 160 hours, and outside salespeople and the employer's own parent, spouse, or child are not covered.

For your exact city figure, see our complete California minimum wage by city guide.

How much you take home, based on how you get paid

The following examples are for a single filer (current W-4 with no extra adjustments, 1 allowance on the California DE 4), working 40 hours a week at $16.90/hour, using official 2026 tax rates (IRS Pub 15-T and CA EDD DE 44). The W-4 is the federal form, and the DE 4 the California form, that tell your employer how much income tax to withhold — “withholding” is the tax taken out of each check and sent to the government. On the DE 4, each allowance lowers the state tax withheld a little; if you never turned in a DE 4, your employer generally withholds California tax as Single with 0 allowances, which takes out a little more than the examples below (if you started before 2020, it may use your old W-4).

You pay the same five deductions — federal, California state, Social Security, Medicare, and SDI — however often you're paid; what changes is the amount on each check. For what each deduction is and why it's taken, see how much is taken out of your paycheck in California. If your city's minimum is higher than $16.90, use that rate in the calculator instead.

SDI is California State Disability Insurance: it pays part of your wages if you can't work because of an illness, injury or pregnancy, or while you take paid family leave — see our California SDI guide. Social Security and Medicare (together called FICA) fund retirement, disability and health benefits.

Does it change if I'm married or head of household?

Yes. Using the same $1,352.00 biweekly gross (current W-4 with no extra adjustments; “Married” means married filing jointly, and the example assumes you didn't check the box in Step 2 of your W-4 — the box for when your spouse also works or you have a second job, which takes out more federal tax; 1 allowance on the DE 4):

Most of the difference comes from federal withholding: the IRS withholding tables leave more of your pay untaxed if you're married or head of household. Married workers also have a little less California tax withheld (about $7 less per check here), because California's married brackets are wider. Head of household also has no California tax withheld at this income, because California's low-income exemption is higher for that status. Your exact number also depends on your W-4 and on how many allowances you claim on your California DE 4.

Head of household generally means you're unmarried and pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for a qualifying person, such as your child. If you're married, you generally can't use it.

Earning more than the minimum? See our take-home pay table from $16.90 to $70 an hour.

Working more than 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week? Those hours are generally paid at 1.5 times your rate — $25.35 an hour at the state minimum — and hours over 12 in a day are paid at double time ($33.80). See California overtime rules and paycheck examples.

What to do if you're paid less than the minimum

1. Check your pay stub. Your hours times your hourly rate (plus overtime at 1.5×, if you worked any) should equal your gross pay, and your rate must be at least $16.90 — or your city's minimum, if it's higher. Our paycheck checker can help you compare.
2. Keep records. Save your pay stubs and write down the time you start and stop work every day, plus your employer's name and address.
3. Ask your employer to fix it, ideally in writing, and keep a copy.
4. File a wage claim. If it isn't fixed, you can file a wage claim with the California Labor Commissioner. You generally have up to 3 years to file for unpaid minimum wage.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

The numbers in this article come from these official sources and references:

• California DIR — Minimum Wage 2026 — the $16.90 state minimum wage
• California DIR — 2026 minimum wage announcement — the increase from $16.50 to $16.90 on January 1, 2026
• California DIR — 2027 minimum wage announcement (August 13, 2026) — $17.40 starting January 1, 2027
• California Labor Code §1182.12 — annual inflation adjustment, capped at 3.5% and rounded to the nearest ten cents
• Labor Commissioner — Minimum Wage FAQ — who is covered, annual inflation adjustment and exceptions
• Labor Commissioner — Fast Food Minimum Wage FAQ — the $20 fast food minimum since April 1, 2024
• California Labor Code §1474 (AB 1228) — covers fast food chains with more than 60 locations nationwide
• Labor Commissioner — Health Care Worker Minimum Wage FAQ — health care minimum wage rates
• UC Berkeley Labor Center — Inventory of city and county minimum wage ordinances — the local rates used as examples (San Francisco, Emeryville)
• Labor Commissioner — Tips and gratuities — no tip credit in California (Labor Code §351)
• Labor Commissioner — How to file a wage claim — what to gather and the 3-year deadline for minimum wage claims
• Labor Commissioner — Overtime FAQ — 1.5x after 8 hours a day or 40 a week, double time after 12 hours
• IRS Publication 15-T (2026) — federal income tax withholding methods used in the examples
• IRS Publication 501 — who can file as head of household
• IRS Topic 751 — Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) rates
• California EDD — Rates and Withholding — 2026 SDI rate (1.3%)
• California EDD — 2026 Method B (Exact Calculation Method) — the annual tables used in the examples: employers may figure the tax for the whole year and prorate it to each paycheck
• California EDD — Form DE 4 — without a DE 4, employers must withhold as Single with zero allowances
• California EDD — DE 44, California Employer's Guide — if an employee doesn't file a DE 4, the employer may use the withholding certificate already in its file