Minimum Wage In California 2024 $20 Hour. Starting april 1, 2024, all “fast food restaurant employees” who are covered by the new law must be paid at least $20.00 per hour. As of january 1, 2024, employees in california must earn an annual salary of no less than $66,560 to meet this threshold requirement.

Nearly 16% of california workers earn less than $17 an hour — among the lowest rates in the country — per new data from oxfam, a global, nonprofit advocacy. The average hourly wage in 2022 was $16.21.