California Minimum Wage Calculator
On January 1, 2027, California’s general minimum wage goes from $16.90 to $17.40 an hour, a 50-cent raise announced by the Department of Industrial Relations (checked October 15, 2026); a 40-hour week then pays $696 instead of $676. For work through December 31, $16.90 applies: at five eight-hour days, that is $676 gross weekly, $2,929.33 monthly on average, or $35,152 over 52 weeks. Covered fast-food, health-care, and local wage rules can require more.
Time card Calculate pay for a covered hourly job
Weekly gross including tips—
Confirm coverage to calculate.
- Hourly floor—
- Per workday—
- Weekly gross—
- Monthly average—
- Yearly gross—
- Employer cash before shortfall
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- Weekly tips retained
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- Employer shortfall payment
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- Total employer cash
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Overtime uses the full regular rate before subtracting a permitted tip credit. Retained voluntary tips are additional to the full cash wage. A confirmed higher rate can be entered above. Per-workday pay divides the week by the days with hours. Annual figures repeat the rounded weekly result.
Reviewed rate period: 2026-01-01 through 2027-12-31. Gross earnings before taxes or deductions. Annual figures repeat this weekly scenario; they do not combine different rate periods.
Reviewed October 2, 2026. California Labor Commissioner’s minimum-wage guidance. Enter hours for each workday because a weekly total alone cannot determine California overtime.
January 2027 and health-care handoffs
The DIR 2027 announcement sets the general floor at $17.40 from January 1. Existing large-system health care stays $25. The statutory safety-net schedule becomes $19.95 on July 1, 2027; qualifying clinics become $25. Other covered non-county facilities remain $23 through June 30, 2028. Confirm facility coverage and any waiver independently.
Choose the wage schedule before multiplying hours
| Confirmed covered category | January–June 2026 | July–December 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| General statewide floor | $16.90 | $16.90 |
| Covered fast food | $20.00 | $20.00 |
| 10,000+ employee health system or dialysis clinic | $24.00 | $25.00 |
| Confirmed safety-net or rural independent health facility | $18.63 | $19.28 |
| Qualifying community, rural or intermittent clinic, no waiver | $21.00 | $22.00 |
| Other covered non-county health facility | $21.00 | $23.00 |
Health-care schedules come from the health-care minimum wage order supplement. Use a week entirely within one rate period. Annual totals repeat the selected weekly rate and do not blend the two halves of 2026.
Fast food: $20 depends on the restaurant’s coverage
The law covers qualifying limited-service restaurants in chains with at least 60 establishments nationwide, primarily selling food or drinks for immediate consumption. Franchise ownership does not automatically remove coverage. The agency lists exclusions, including specified bakeries, grocery operations, and restaurants connected to certain venues. Confirm the establishment before choosing $20. A higher general local minimum can still apply. DIR fast-food coverage FAQ.
Health care: identify the facility and check for a waiver
A health-care job title alone does not select the rate. Confirm both the covered facility and qualifying work; support roles can qualify too. DIR links official lists for large systems and safety-net facilities. Its clinic category includes specified urgent-care clinics associated with community or rural clinics. County-run facilities have separate schedules; this worksheet’s health-care selections cover the listed non-county categories. DIR health-care coverage and facility lists.
A clinic with an approved waiver must post it and notify workers of its applicable wage. The standard clinic selection assumes no waiver. Independent skilled nursing facilities are not automatically covered by the health-care increase; DIR says their increase depends on a separate patient-care spending requirement. Do not use a hospital schedule solely because the workplace provides care. Clinic-waiver program; Health-care FAQ, questions 5 and 24–25.
Daily overtime, weekly overtime, and double time
For the ordinary rule modeled here, hours above eight through 12 in a workday receive 1.5 times the regular rate; hours beyond 12 receive double time. When all seven days of the same workweek are worked, the seventh day’s first eight hours receive 1.5 times and later hours receive double time. Weekly overtime above 40 is added without charging a second premium for the same hour. DIR overtime FAQ.
| Schedule at $16.90 | 1.5× hours | 2× hours | Gross wages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five 8-hour days | 0 | 0 | $676.00 |
| Four 10-hour days, ordinary schedule | 8 | 0 | $743.60 |
| One 13-hour workday | 4 | 1 | $270.40 |
| Seven 8-hour workdays in the same workweek | 16 | 0 | $1,081.60 |
For the single 13-hour day, the calculation is eight hours at $16.90, four at $25.35, and one at $33.80: $270.40. Enter the employer’s fixed workday and workweek boundaries, not an arbitrary rolling seven-day window.
An approved alternative workweek, special wage-order exemption, qualifying collective-bargaining arrangement, multiple rates, or additional compensation can change the calculation. The confirmation excludes those cases. Meal/rest penalties and paid leave are not hours worked in this model. Overtime applicability and regular-rate guidance.
Local wages and tips
California cities and counties can have a higher applicable floor. Use the higher-rate field after checking the worksite’s local rule; it cannot reduce the selected state or industry floor. This is a rate you supply, not an automatic city lookup. State guidance on local minimum wages.
California does not allow employers to credit tips against the minimum wage. For five eight-hour days at the general floor plus $200 in tips, the employer still pays $676; total gross is $876. Payroll taxes and other deductions are not included. DIR tips and gratuities FAQ.
Compare a neighboring workplace
Oregon’s minimum wage uses regional wage floors; Nevada’s minimum wage has its own daily-overtime eligibility rule; Arizona’s minimum wage distinguishes state, Tucson and Flagstaff coverage. Choose the state where the work happens.
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Updated First published