Santa Clara County has no county-specific minimum wage above the California state floor for unincorporated areas. Workers in unincorporated SCC follow the state rate set by SB-3, while San Jose and other cities maintain higher local minimums.
Unlike Los Angeles County, Santa Clara County has not enacted a countywide minimum wage ordinance for unincorporated areas. Workers in SCC unincorporated zones (covering Stanford, Alum Rock pockets, Coyote Valley, and South County rural lands) earn at least the California statewide floor of $16.50 per hour as of January 2025, indexed annually under SB-3. Most populated SCC area sits inside cities that adopted higher rates: San Jose ($17.95), Sunnyvale ($19.00), Mountain View ($19.20), Cupertino ($18.20), Palo Alto ($18.20), and Santa Clara ($18.20). The California Labor Commissioner enforces the state floor; cities enforce their own ordinances independently.
California Labor Commissioner imposes wage citations of $100 per first violation and $250 per subsequent violation, plus restitution of unpaid wages and liquidated damages equal to unpaid amounts. Willful violations trigger criminal misdemeanor liability under Labor Code §1199.
See how Palo Alto's minimum wage preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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