Minimum wage goes up in San Jose, several other Bay Area cities

SAN JOSE (BCN)-- The minimum wage in the City of San Jose today rises to $13.50 an hour, part of a regional effort to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2019.

In November 2016, the San Jose City Council adopted a multi-step increase in the minimum wage that brings it to $13.50 today and $15 on Jan. 1, 2019. After that, it will be automatically adjusted annually with cost-of-living increases.

"Our efforts to raise the minimum wage will provide a significant boost for the thousands of hardworking families across the valley who struggle to keep up with rising costs," said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo in a statement.

"By moving forward with many of our neighboring cities, we'll ensure that more of our residents benefit from a higher wage and that we have a more even playing field for our small businesses," Liccardo said.

Through the regional effort, several other Santa Clara County cities have concurrently adopted ordinances aimed at raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2019. These cities include Cupertino, Los Altos, Milpitas, Palo Alto and Santa Clara, according to the mayor's office.

Both the cities of Sunnyvale and Mountain View reached that goal today, as the minimum wages there increased to $15.

Other Bay Area cities on similar paths to $15 hourly wages that increased minimum wages today include Oakland, which went up from $12.86 to $13.23, Richmond from $12.30 to $13.41 and San Mateo from $12 to $13.50.

Statewide, the minimum wage increased today to $11 per hour for businesses with 26 employees or more and $10.50 for businesses with 25 employees or less.