A higher minimum wage for many hospitality workers goes into effect in the City of San Diego on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. The Hospitality Minimum Wage Ordinance applies to employees who perform at least two hours of work in a work week for a covered hospitality employer within the city. 

The Hospitality Minimum Wage Ordinance was approved by the San Diego City Council in September 2025, and subsequently signed into law by Mayor Todd Gloria. Under the law, covered employers include certain hotels, amusement parks and event centers that meet the criteria outlined in the ordinance: 

• Hotels with 150 or more rooms, which can include restaurants, bars, banquet halls, etc., on hotel grounds. 
• Event centers such as Petco Park, Pechanga Arena, the Civic Theatre and the San Diego Convention Center.  
• Amusement parks with more than 75 acres and operating under agreement with the City.  

Workers at event centers must be paid $21.06 per hour, while employees of covered hotels and amusement parks must be paid $19 per hour starting July 1, 2026. Wages will increase every year on July 1 until they reach $25 an hour in 2030.  

The minimum wage rates for hospitality workers are higher than the City’s current minimum wage of $17.75 an hour, which took effect Jan. 1, 2026. The City’s Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance was approved by voters in 2016, and the minimum wage in San Diego has increased annually since 2019, with each increase tied to the prior year’s cost-of-living increase, as measured by the Consumer Price Index.  

Updated notices on the Hospitality Minimum Wage Ordinance for posting at the workplace are available at sandiego.gov/labor-and-wage. Every employer must post these notices in a conspicuous place at any workplace or job site. 

To review frequently asked questions, visit the City’s Hospitality Minimum Wage Ordinance questions and answers document. For questions or to file a complaint, contact the City’s Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement at SDMinWage@sandiego.gov or call 619-235-5912.