Photo: Activists advocate for a $15 minimum wage in Los Angeles in 2015 from Capital and Main.
Happy fiscal New Year Santa Monica.
Every year on July 1, the minimum and living wages in the City of Santa Monica increase thanks to an ordinance passed in 2016. Santa Monicans take pride in having one of the most progressive minimum wage laws in America, and workers benefit by seeing an annual increase in the lowest wages allowed in the city.
Councilmember Dan Hall breaks down the changes in his weekly newsletter: Effective July 1, 2026, the general minimum wage rises to $18.47 per hour, adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The wage for hotels and businesses operating on hotel property rises to $25.00 per hour, matching the City of Los Angeles hotel worker rate under Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.63.015(b)(2). Unlike Los Angeles, Santa Monica does not impose a health benefit requirement under its current Hotel Worker Living Wage Ordinance. A limited exemption applies to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that explicitly waives the ordinance’s protections.
While Santa Monica has one of the most progressive living wage ordinances in California by mandating annual increases, the minimum wage still falls short of the living wage, defined as what a single person would need to earn to be housed and survive within the area where they work. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator for Los Angeles County (which includes Santa Monica), a single adult with no children needs to earn $28.92 per hour (roughly $60,161 annually before taxes) to afford basic necessities such as housing, food, and transportation.
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