California and New York Push for $30 Minimum Wage by 2030

Mark Dorsey, a 35-year-old resident of East Oakland, works two jobs to make ends meet, often relying on minimum wage or close to it. The current minimum wage in Oakland is $17.34 an hour, higher than California's $16.90 an hour, but still insufficient for Dorsey.

Dorsey is part of a campaign to almost double California's minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030. A similar initiative has been tabled in New York City, backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The initiatives face opposition from business interests, but have widespread public support. The federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009.

The Oakland and Alameda Living Wage for All campaign has filed two ballot initiatives for the November 2026 ballot to increase the minimum wage in Oakland and Alameda county to $30 an hour by 2030 for large employers.

Zach Norris, co-executive director of the Black Organizing Project, emphasizes that the ballot initiatives are also racial justice issues, as Oakland has seen a 46% decline of Black residents since 2000.

In New York City, Councilor Sandy Nurse has introduced a bill to increase the minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030 for large employers, with small businesses given more time to adapt.

The Economic Policy Institute projects that 1.68 million New York City residents, 36.7% of the city's wage-earning workforce, will earn less than $30 an hour by 2030.

Business groups have voiced opposition, but a 2023 study found that minimum wage increases do not result in job losses or small business closures.