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East Palo Alto City Council unanimously approved at a council meeting on Tuesday an increase to the minimum wage from $17.45 to $17.90 per hour, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
The increase is part of an annual adjustment required under East Palo Alto’s Minimum Wage Ordinance, which aims to ensure income keeps up with “regional cost of living changes,” according to city documents.
Based on the August 2025 Consumer Price Index, which measures the cost of local goods and services, city staff calculated a 2.5% increase in the minimum wage.
East Palo Alto’s minimum wage remains slightly higher than neighboring San Mateo County cities like Menlo Park, where it is is currently $17.10, and Atherton, where it $16.50. In Redwood City, the current minimum wage is $18.20, the second highest in the county.
Any employers who are subject to the East Palo Alto Business License Tax or who own a business facility in the city must adhere to the minimum wage changes for every employee who works two or more hours a week.
In July, San Mateo County launched a new Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement in an attempt to combat wage theft and support low-wage workers, especially across largely immigrant communities.
The office provides a free advice hotline for workers and employers to provide more accessible support for those “often afraid to report violations due to immigration status, embarrassment or other barriers,” according to Carolina Babbidge, a Deputy County Attorney with the department.
“With the launch of the OLSE, every San Mateo County worker now has a place they can go to locally to receive help and seek justice, if they are being taken advantage of and wronged on a job site,” County Supervisor Ray Mueller wrote in a statement.
The City of East Palo Alto will publish a bulletin notice announcing the wage increase to employers by Nov. 1.
