Pasadena minimum wage set to go up July 1

The hourly minimum wage will rise from $16.93 per hour to $17.50 on July 1 for all Pasadena businesses, the city announced Monday.

Pasadena’s minimum wage provides a steeper increase than the state’s wage hike, which rose from $15.50 hourly in 2023 to $16 on Jan. 1. The new pay rate will remain until it rises again on June 30, 2025.

The Pasadena City Council adopted its own minimum wage ordinance in March 2016, which according to city officials was “prior to the State of California’s action, and the state’s minimum wage does not preempt Pasadena’s minimum wage ordinance.”

Following several mandated annual increases, Pasadena’s minimum wage is currently adjusted based on “an amount equal to the change in the consumer price index,” according to the city’s announcement.

On April 1, the state’s minimum wage for all national fast-food chain restaurants became $20 an hour. This supersedes Pasadena’s ordinance, so all fast-food establishments within the city limits must pay the higher rate.

More information on California’s minimum wage for fast-food workers is available from the Department of Industrial Relations at Dir.Ca.Gov/Dlse/Minimum_Wage.htm.

“Recognizing the importance of the local minimum wage and particularly its impact on low-wage earners and members of the immigrant community, Planning & Community Development Director Jennifer Paige noted that workers at all levels bring vibrance and vitality to the local economy,” according to the city’s announcement. “Employees can share in Pasadena’s prosperity made possible, in large part, by the City Council’s vision in requiring payment of a fair and just minimum wage.”

The city’s website has more information on the local minimum wage.