The minimum wages in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale will rise once again when the clock strikes midnight on the new year. Both cities have minimum wage ordinances that rise with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and as such, those minimum wages will go up on Jan. 1, 2026.
In Santa Clara, the minimum wage will go up to $18.70 per hour. That means that any employee within city limits who works at least two hours per week will be paid at least $18.70 per hour.
Employers must post a notice in the workplace of the current and prospective minimum wage rates and the employees’ rights under Santa Clara’s Minimum Wage Ordinance. The 2026 Minimum Wage Posters for the workplace are available on the city’s website at SantaClaraCA.gov/MinimumWage.
Sunnyvale’s Minimum Wage Rises 50 Cents per Hour
In Sunnyvale, the city’s minimum wage is expected to jump 50 cents per hour on Jan. 1. According to the city’s website, workers will be paid $19.50 per hour in the new year.
This is a slight increase from the change between 2024 and 2025, when workers saw a 45-cent jump in pay. Between 2023 and 2024, there was also a 50-cent increase in the minimum wage in Sunnyvale.
California’s Minimum Wage Increases to $16.90 per Hour
Neither of these minimum wages supersedes California’s fast food minimum wage law of $20 per hour. That will remain in effect for fast food establishments that are considered “limited service” and have at least 60 establishments nationwide.
Statewide, the minimum wage will increase to $16.90 per hour.
All of the minimum wages are considerably higher than the federal minimum wage, which remains $7.25 per hour and has not changed since July 24, 2009.
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