2026 City and County Ordinance Updates: What Employers Need to Know

January 1st, 2026 is busy as usual for scheduled minimum wage changes to a number of cities and counties across the United States. Many of these (47 to be exact) coincide with an updated labor notice in some form or fashion. We've broken down all city and county local ordinances changes below to help employers keep caught up during this busy time of the year.

Arizona

Flagstaff - Flagstaff, Arizona is increasing the minimum wage for all employees within city bounds to $18.35 per hour, meaning for the first time within the city, employers can no longer use tips or any fringe benefits to offset this minimum wage obligation.

Tucson - Effective January 1st, 2026, the city of Tucson Arizona is increasing the minimum wage to be paid to employees within the city to $15.45 an hour for employees who work 5 or more hours within the geographical bounds of the city.

California

Belmont - The minimum wage within the city of Belmont has been increased to $18.95 per hour. Employees covered under this wage include any individual who performs at least two hours of work per week within the geographic bounds of Belmont regardless of age.

Burlingame - The city of Burlingame has officially released their scheduled minimum wage increase for 2026 by taking the pre-determined 2026 base value of $17.43 in addition to the calculated 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) for a total of $17.86. This minimum wage of $17.86 will go into effect for those working in Burlingame January 1st, 2026.

Cupertino - Effective January 1st, 2026, the minimum wage within Cupertino, California will increase to $18.70 an hour as part of Cupertino’s yearly scheduled increase of the minimum wage.

Daly City - Effective January 1st, 2026, the minimum wage for Daly City is being increased to $17.50 per hour for all businesses operating within Daly City bounds as well as for any employee who works two or more hours within Daly City bounds a week. No employer within the city can use tips or other fringe benefits to offset this minimum wage obligation.

East Palo Alto - Employers who are subject to the East Palo Alto Business License Tax or otherwise maintain any sort of facility within the city must pay each employee working withing East Palo Alto city bounds for two hours or more each week $17.90 per hour, effective January 1st, 2026.

El Cerrito - El Cerrito, California has released the official minimum wage for the first of January, 2026 of $18.82 per hour for any individual working within El Cerrito city bounds for two or more hours a week. 

Foster City - Effective January 1st, 2026, Foster City, California, is increasing the minimum wage to $17.85 per hour for employees working two or more hours a week within city bounds as part of their scheduled annual increase based on the regional consumer price index (CPI) of the previous year.

Half Moon Bay - The city of Half Moon Bay, California is increasing the minimum wage that employers must pay employees within the geographic bounds of the city who work at minimum two hours a week to $17.91 per hour effective January 1st, 2026.

Hayward - As of January 1st, 2026, any large employer within Hayward, California, defined as any employer with a total of at least 26 employees including those working outside of Hayward, must pay at least $17.79 per hour to any employee within city bounds. Any employer with no more than 25 employees in total must pay at minimum $16.90 per hour to any employee working within the Hayward, California geographic bounds.

Los Altos - Los Altos, California, increased their minimum wage within the city to $18.70 per hour, effective January 1st, 2026. This annual change not only introduced an amended Minimum Wage Notice, but also an updated Know Your Rights notice reflecting the said wage increase.

Menlo Park - Effective January 1st, 2026, the minimum wage required to be paid to employees who work two or more hours within the city has been increased by 45 cents to $17.55 per hour, reflecting an inflation adjustment of 2.7% with in the San Francisco Bay Area measured between August 2024 and August 2025.

Mountain View - The city of Mountain View, California, is increasing their minimum wage within city bounds to $19.70 per hour. This change will go into effect January 1st, 2026 and must be the minimum amount paid to any employee working at least 2 hours a week within the geographical bounds of the city.

Novato - Effective January 1st, 2026, the minimum wage for workers in Novato, California is being increased to $17.73 per hour for employers with at least 100 employees, $17.46 per hour for employers with at least 26 employees but less than 100 employees, and lastly $16.90 per hour for any employer with fewer than 26 employees.

Oakland - Going into effect January 1st, 2026, the minimum wage for Oakland, California, is being raised to $17.34 per hour for most workers within the city, with a notable exception for hotel workers who instead must be paid at minimum $18.85 per hour with qualifying health benefits, or $25.14 per hour without.

Palo Alto - The city of Palo Alto, California, is increasing the minimum wage rate to be paid to individuals who work 2 or more hours per week within the geographic bounds of the city to $18.70 per hour. In addition to this yearly scheduled increase to the minimum wage notice for this city, they’ve also included an updated Know Your Rights Notice that goes into more details on employee rights within the city.

Petaluma - Effective January 1st, 2026, Petaluma, California has raised the minimum wage applicable to the majority of workers within city bounds by 1.9% to $18.31 per hour. Notably, any worker eligible to be paid a “Learner’s Wage” may instead be paid at minimum $15.56 per hour worked.

Redwood - With Redwood, California’s annual wage adjustment for January 1st, 2026, the minimum wage to be paid to the majority of workers within the city will be $18.65, with higher wage requirements for both fast food and health care workers within Redwood.

Richmond - Going into effect January 1st, 2026, all employers may not pay any employee within the geographical bounds of Richmond, California any less than $19.18 per hour.

San Carlos - Effective January 1st, 2026, the minimum wage within the geographical bounds of the city of San Carlos, California, will be raised to $17.75 per hour worked.

San Diego - The city of San Diego, California has gone through with their scheduled minimum wage increase for all employees who work two or more hours a week within city bounds, to $17.75 an hour. This increase goes into effect January 1st, 2026.

San Francisco - San Francisco, California, has replaced their Salary History notice with the new Parity in Pay notice, as a result of related changes to city ordinances. As a result employers within the city no longer need to post the Salary History notice but must post the Parity in Pay notice in its place which goes over employee rights regarding their current salary and salary histories for the purposes of applying to a job. In addition to this, San Francisco, California, has also updated their Fair Chance Ordinance with some clarification on employer rights regarding their criminal record history for the purposes of the job application process.

San Jose - San Jose, California, has increased the minimum wage in effect as of January 1st, 2026, within the geographical bounds of the city to $17.95 an hour.

San Mateo - Effective January 1st, 2026, the city of San Mateo, California, has increased the minimum wage in effect for any employee working within the city to $18.60 per hour. This wage requirement applies to any worker who performs at least two hours of work a week within city bounds regardless of age.

San Mateo County - Employers within the city of San Mateo County, California, must pay their employees at minimum $17.95 per hour as of January 1st, 2026. This of course is only in effect for the non-incorporated parts of San Mateo County and any city ordinances within the county with a higher wage rate supersedes this posting requirement.

Santa Clara - Effective January 1st, 2026, Santa Clara has adjusted their minimum wage to be paid to employees within city based on the calculated Consumer Price Index for the local area to $18.70 per hour. As a result of this minimum wage change, along with a revised Minimum Wage notice, Santa Clara has also released an updated Know Your Rights notice going into more minimum wage information useful to individuals working in Santa Clara.

Santa Rosa - Effective January 1st, 2026, Santa Rosa, California has increased the minimum wage in effect for employees working within the geographic borders of the city to $18.21 an hour without exceptions based on employee size.

Sonoma - Sonoma, California, has increased the minimum wage in effect for both large and small employers to $18.47 per hour and $17.38 per hour respectively. These two wages go into effect January 1st, 2026.

South San Francisco - Effective January 1st, 2026, the minimum wage for the city of South San Francisco, California, is being increased to $17.70 per hour for any employee regardless of age who works at least two hours a week within city bounds.

Sunnyvale - The scheduled minimum wage increase for Sunnyvale, California, to $19.50 an hour goes into effect within the city January 1st, 2026.

West Hollywood - In effect January 1st, 2026, the minimum wage for the majority of workers within West Hollywood, California, will be set to $20.25 per hour worked.

Colorado

Boulder County - Boulder County, Colorado, has amended their Local Minimum Wage Ordinance last month increasing the minimum wage of Boulder County to $16.82 per hour effective January 1st, 2026. This wage only applies to individuals working within the unincorporated areas of Boulder County. Boulder City, Colorado also increased their minimum wage to $16.82, but their 2025 version of the poster already includes this wage and therefore is still in compliance as of writing this blog.

Denver - Denver, Colorado is increasing the minimum wage in effect within the city/county to $19.29 per hour as of January 1st, 2026. Employers in the food and beverage industry can offset this wage by claiming at most $3.02 per hour in the form of a tip credit as described in Colorado State Law.

Maine

Portland - Effective January 1st, 2026, the Maine city of Portland is raising the minimum wage to be paid to hourly employees within the city to $16.75 per hour, with service employees instead will have their minimum wage rate increased to $8.38 per hour. Interestingly, both of these wages are calculated at 150% of their usual rate whenever an emergency order is in effect within the city.

Rockland - The city of Rockland, Maine, as of January 1st, 2026, will increase the wage for most employees to $16.00 per hour. Notably, service employees who are defined as an individual who regularly gains more than $191 a month in tips can instead be paid a base wage of $8.00 an hour, though the employer must make up the difference in cases where an employee’s base wage and total tips does not meet $16.00 per hour worked.

Minnesota

Minneapolis - The minimum wage for Minneapolis, Minnesota is increasing to $16.37 per hour for all employers operating within city limits effective January 1st, 2026.

Saint Paul - Effective January 1st, 2026, Saint Paul, Minnesota, has updated their combined multi-ordinance notice that covers Earned Sick and Safe Time, Minimum Wage, and Wage Theft employee and employer protections within the city with a new set of wages dependent on the size of the employer. Employers with more than 100 employees must pay a minimum wage of $16.37 per hour, employers with between 6 and 100 employees must pay a minimum wage of $15.00 per hour, and lastly employers with less than 6 employees must pay a minimum wage of $13.25 an hour.

New Mexico

Las Cruces - Las Cruces, New Mexico has increased the minimum wage for tipped workers within the city to $5.20 per hour while the minimum wage for most other workers within the city has been increased to $13.01 per hour. These changes go into effect January 1st, 2026.

New York State

New York City - The New York City Commission on Human Rights “Notice of Rights” has been updated. The filing deadline for discrimination complaints has been extended from one year to three years from the date of the last alleged act. Additionally, a new protected category of “criminal record” has been added under the housing section. Minor wording and formatting updates were also made throughout the notice to improve clarity and readability. The last update for New York City this cycle, is for the Sick & Safe Time Notice, which is amended to include information on the new provisions - notably, the addition of 36 pre-loaded hours to any new employee’s available number of sick time hours.

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh - Effective January 1st, 2026, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has updated their Paid Sick Days Act in order to increase the number of paid sick leave hours an employee can get, along with the speed in which an employee earns them within the city.

Washington

Everett - Effective January 1st, 2026 within Everett, Washington, large employers, defined as any employer who employs 500 or more employees including franchises under some sort of common control, must pay a minimum wage of $20.77 per hour. Other covered employers, who are defined as employing between 15 and 499 employees or have an annual gross income over two million dollars, must pay at minimum $18.77 per hour. This notice includes the July 1st, 2026 increase for other covered employers to $19.77 per hour.

King County - New for January 1st, 2026, King County has increased minimum wage to $20.82 per hour with exceptions for the following categorized employers. Employers with less than 16 employees and an annual gross revenue of $2 million or more as well as employers with between 16 and 499 employees may instead pay a minimum wage of $19.82 per hour to any employee working within unincorporated parts of the county. Finally, employers with less than 16 employees and have an annual gross revenue less than $2 million may instead pay a minimum of $18.32 per hour to employees within unincorporated King County.

SeaTac - SeaTac, Washington, a city within greater King County, has raised the minimum wage to be paid to employees working within the Hospitality and Transportation industries within the city to $20.74 per hour. This scheduled wage increase goes into effect January 1st, 2026.

Seattle - In effect January 1st, 2026, Seattle, Washington, has increase the wage for employees within the city to $21.30 per hour. In addition to this change reflected in the updated Labor Standards Notice for 2026, there was also a minor verbiage change to the Commuter Benefits section.

Tukwila - As per the Tukwila Labor Standards, in effect January 1st, 2026, the minimum wage for the city of Tukwila, Washington is being increased to $21.65 per hour.