What’s the minimum wage for servers in California?
The short answer
California at a glance
| Minimum wage | $16.90 | Federal: $7.25 |
|---|---|---|
| Tipped cash wage (paid before tips) | $16.90 | Federal: $2.13 |
| Can tips count toward minimum wage? | No | DOL: No |
| Who counts as tipped | n/a in tips a month | |
| State tax on the federal tips deduction | California does not follow the federal tips deduction for state income tax. | |
As of the U.S. Department of Labor table revised July 1, 2026. Your city may set a higher rate.
What’s different in California
Federal law allows a $2.13 cash wage for tipped staff. California doesn’t. The DOL lists the state among those that require the full minimum before tips, so your base is $16.90 on every hour you clock, the same as a dishwasher or host.
Taxes are another place California breaks from the federal rules. The Franchise Tax Board’s summary of federal changes answers the tips deduction question with a flat “No, with respect to the deduction on tips provisions.” Tips that qualify for the federal deduction still get no break on your California return. A bill to adopt the deduction for 2026 to 2028, AB 1550, was pending, and the FTB page didn’t show it enacted when we checked.
BLS pegged the median for California servers at $17.35 an hour in May 2025, a figure employers estimate and that includes tips they report. Since your state return won’t shelter tips, a clean record of what you earned matters twice over.
Example shift
Say you work 6 hours and walk out with $120 in tips (illustrative numbers; use your own).
- Wages: $16.90 × 6 = $101.40.
- With tips: $101.40 + $120 = $221.40, or $36.90 an hour.
What servers earn: BLS estimates the median hourly wage for waiters and waitresses in California was $17.35 in May 2025. BLS counts tips in this figure, but the numbers come from employers’ estimates, so they may not reflect all the tips servers receive.
Check your own week: Am I being paid at least minimum wage?
Official sources
Last verified
. Checked the U.S. Department of Labor state tables (revised July 1, 2026) and BLS OEWS May 2025, and California FTB: Summary of federal income tax changes.