Governor Newsom announces California will raise statewide minimum wage

The increase is automatic under California law, which adjusts the minimum wage annually to keep pace with inflation.

Making California more affordable 

California’s minimum wage has grown from $12 an hour when Governor Newsom took office to $17.40 an hour starting on January 1, 2027. The wage increase is part of a broader agenda to make life more affordable for Californians.

Under Governor Newsom, California has:

Supporting workers is good for business

Those investments have helped build one of the strongest economies in the world. California is now the fourth-largest economy on the planet, leads the nation in new business formation, attracts more venture capital than any other state, and remains America’s engine of innovation, manufacturing, agriculture, entertainment, and technology.

Since Governor Newsom took office, California’s annual GDP has grown by more than $1.18 trillion, reaching $4.25 trillion in 2025. First-quarter 2026 economic output reached an annualized $4.4 trillion, following annual GDP gains exceeding $200 billion in each of the previous two years. 

California continues to lead the nation where it matters most — creating new businesses, attracting venture capital, driving technological innovation, expanding advanced manufacturing, growing high-tech industries, and producing more than any other state. In fact, the Golden State continues to be: #1 state for new business starts, #1 state for manufacturing, #1 state for venture capital funding, #1 state for high-tech business, and #1 state for agriculture.

California also remains home to more small businesses than Texas or Florida and continues to be America’s startup capital — with more than 4.3 million small businesses employing 7.6 million Californians.

When it comes to job creation during the first quarter, California added more than 131,000 jobs over the previous year — the largest increase of any state. California posted the nation’s second-fastest growth in the first quarter of 2026. Real GDP grew at a 3.7% annualized rate in Q1 2026.