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Where are the biggest wage hikes in California?

March 21, 2026

Angry at California’s lofty cost of living or its stubbornly high housing expenses?

Generous pay raises can be seen as a culprit — or a way many Californians survive the financial stress.

My trusty spreadsheet reviewed employment data from a quarterly tally of unemployment insurance filings, which are considered highly accurate, county-level counts of pay and staffing. The stats for 2025’s third quarter showed that among the 75 counties with the largest job markets, a list that includes 12 from California, the Golden State had seven of the 25 biggest 12-month increases in average weekly wages.

San Mateo’s eye-catching 32% jump in its average weekly wage of $4,523 made the county the national leader in both the size of the one-year increase and pay. The county had 411,700 jobs, up 1.2% over the past year.

The Bay Area economy has been percolating as its tech-savvy workforce has become highly sought after amid the expanded use of artificial intelligence across many aspects of life.

Also in the top 25 counties were:

– San Francisco: Up 13% (No. 2 of the 75) to $3,459 (No. 3) for 699,300 jobs, off 0.2% in a year.

– Santa Clara: Up 12% (No. 3) to $3,868 (No. 2) for 1,122,700 jobs, up 1% in a year.

– Orange: Up 5.3% (No. 13) to $1,579 (No. 27) for 1,661,000 jobs, flat in a year.

– San Diego: Up 5.3% (No. 13) to $1,603 (No. 25) for 1,530,100 jobs, off 0.1% in a year.

– Fresno: Up 5% (No. 21) to $1,168 (No. 74) for 433,800 jobs, off 0.6% in a year.

– Alameda: Up 4.7% (No. 25) to $1,936 (No. 11) for 782,100 jobs, off 0.5% in a year.

Other Golden counties

Look at typical raises among the other California counties among the 75 biggest job markets …

– Los Angeles: Up 3.7% (No. 43 of the 75) to $1,578 (No. 28) for 4,517,500 jobs, flat in a year.

– San Bernardino: Up 3.4% (No. 55) to $1,202 (No. 72) for 850,400 jobs, up 0.8% in a year.

– Sacramento: Up 2.8% (No. 64) to $1,562 (No. 31) for 731,400 jobs, up 0.4% in a year.

– Riverside: Up 2.6% (No. 67) to $1,152 (No. 75) for 842,100 jobs, up 0.7% in a year.

– Contra Costa: Up 0.9% (No. 73) to $1,624 (No. 21) for 373,600 jobs, up 0.5% in a year.

Outperforming outsiders

As a group, these 12 counties averaged 5.9% wage hikes over the year, to $1,905 weekly for 14 million workers, with staffing up 0.2% in a year.

Contrast those pay patterns with those in the 63 large job markets outside California. Those raises ran 4.2% to $1,646 for 50 million jobs, a workforce that shrank 0.2% in a year.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

Orange County Register

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Where are the biggest wage hikes in California?

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