California’s minimum wage is set to increase in January of next year to $16.50 – but a proposition you’ll be voting on in the upcoming election looks to make that increase larger and earlier.
Proposition 32 looks to immediately increase the minimum wage to $17.00 if it passes, and would take the minimum wage up to $18.00 an hour on January 1st for employers with 26 or more employees. If a business has fewer than 26 employees, the minimum wage will remain at $17.00.
The proposition would not change any local or industry-specific minimum wages.
Many cities and counties already have a higher minimum wage that the state mandates – for instance Berkeley and San Francisco already sit above $18 an hour, and unincorporated areas within Los Angeles County are at $16.90. San Bernardino County is at pace with the state’s current minimum wage of $16.00 an hour.
Those minimum wage workers would ultimately see an 11% increase come January. According to the census data, the median income for individuals in the county is $34,107 dollars, and it’s about double that at $77 thousand for the median household income.
Unlike year’s past when measures to increase the minimum wage for fast food and healthcare workers were on the ballot, advertising for or against the bill has been relatively quiet. For instance – the website against the proposition still has a “Launching Soon” notice on it. That may be because that increase to $18.00 an hour is coming in 2026 whether the proposition passes or not, with adjustments each year for inflation starting in 2027.
Currently, California has the second highest minimum wage on the west coast with Washington state topping us at $16.28. Our golden state also has one of the highest costs of living.
The median home price for a single family home in San Bernardino County was $450,000 in 2022.
Minimum Wages per State (U.S. Department of Labor)
