San Francisco workers earn a local minimum wage of $18.67 an hour, and California layers on some of the strongest overtime rules in the country. This calculator applies both, splitting your week into regular, overtime, and double-time hours to show your true gross pay.
Rate note: San Francisco’s local minimum wage rises every July 1 by CPI, so the
$18.67default shown here is a reference figure, not a permanent value — always confirm the current rate with the SF Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (linked in Sources) and enter your actual hourly rate. The overtime maths below is fixed by California law and does not change with the rate.
How California overtime is computed
California overtime is computed per day first, then topped up for the week so no hour is counted twice:
per day: regular = min(hours, 8)
OT (1.5x) = clamp(hours − 8, 0, 4) (hours 8–12)
DT (2.0x) = max(hours − 12, 0) (hours over 12)
weekly OT: if total regular hours > 40, the excess shifts to 1.5x
pay = regular×rate + OT×1.5×rate + DT×2×rateBecause California mandates daily overtime, hours over 8 in a day earn time-and-a- half even if the weekly total is under 40, which the federal rule would not pay.
Why San Francisco has its own minimum wage
San Francisco was among the first large US cities to establish a local minimum wage above the California statewide floor. The city’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) administers the local rate, which is adjusted annually on July 1 based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in the San Francisco area. The local rate therefore tracks San Francisco’s own inflation experience rather than a statewide figure, and consistently outpaces the California base.
The practical effect is that every covered employer in San Francisco — including most small businesses, non-profits, and government contractors — must pay at least the local rate, not the lower California or federal minimum. Workers who believe they are being underpaid can file a complaint with OLSE, which has the authority to investigate and recover unpaid wages.
Worked examples
Standard 5-day week, 10 hours per day:
Each day: 8 regular + 2 overtime. Week total: 40 regular + 10 overtime.
Pay: 40 × $18.67 + 10 × $18.67 × 1.5 = $746.80 + $280.05 = $1,026.85 gross.
A single 13-hour shift:
8 regular + 4 overtime (hours 8–12) + 1 double-time (hour 13).
Pay: 8 × $18.67 + 4 × $28.01 + 1 × $37.34 = $149.36 + $112.04 + $37.34 = $298.74 for that day.
Note that these examples illustrate the method — verify your actual rate and check for any employer-specific agreements.
Tips
Always confirm your employer is not below the current SF local minimum, since some default to the lower statewide rate by mistake. In San Francisco, tips are completely separate from the minimum wage — California forbids a tip credit, so the full local minimum must be paid before any tips are added. Results are gross pay before California state income tax, federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and any voluntary deductions.
The three California overtime thresholds, restated
California is a daily overtime state — the trigger is hours in a day, not just the 40-hour federal week:
| Hours in one workday | Rate |
|---|---|
| First 8 | Regular |
| Over 8 up to 12 | 1.5× (time-and-a-half) |
| Over 12 | 2× (double time) |
| 7th consecutive day: first 8 hours | 1.5× |
| 7th consecutive day: over 8 hours | 2× |
Because daily overtime is computed first, a worker doing four 11-hour days (44 hours) earns daily overtime on the hours over 8 each day even though a purely weekly (federal) calculation would treat only the hours over 40 as overtime. This tool applies the daily thresholds first, then adds any remaining weekly overtime without double-counting.
Common calculation mistakes this tool avoids
- Weekly-only thinking. Applying the federal over-40 rule to a California week understates pay whenever any single day exceeds 8 hours — the most common payroll error reported by hourly workers in daily-overtime states.
- Double-counting daily and weekly overtime. An hour that already earned 1.5× under the daily rule must not be counted again toward the over-40 weekly trigger; the calculator removes daily-OT hours from the weekly regular-hours total before the 40-hour check.
- Averaging across days. Two days of 6 and 10 hours are not “two 8-hour days” — the 10-hour day owes 2 hours at 1.5× even though the total is 16.
Sources
- San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement — Minimum Wage Ordinance — the current local rate and July 1 adjustment.
- California Department of Industrial Relations — Overtime pay — the daily/weekly overtime and double-time rules.
- California DIR — Tips and gratuities (no tip credit) — why the full minimum applies before tips.