Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that California is among the states with the highest average hourly and weekly wages.
The bureau released statistics for all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and ranked them from lowest to highest.
California was among the top-earning states from the data, along with states such as New York and Washington.
What is the hourly average pay in California?
The private hourly wage for the average Californian is $40.97. The figure is not seasonally adjusted.
The Average weekly private hourly earnings for someone in the Golden State amounted to an average of $1376.59. However, the state did not rank high in average weekly hours at 33.6 hours. They state ranked somewhere in the middle of all states, with the lowest average hours in Delaware, with 32 hours.
The state had the third-highest average hourly rate, only beaten out by Massachusetts and Washington. If D.C. were counted as a state, it would have the highest average, making it more than $10 higher than Massachusetts.
What are the states with the highest average hourly pay?
What states have the lowest average hourly pay?
What is the unemployment rate in California?
As of June 2025, the United States had an unemployment rate of 4.1% and about 70 million people unemployed. The state of California, however has a much higher rate at 5.4%. Nevada also had a 5.4% rate.
The unemployment rate grew slightly compared to May with an increase of 0.1%, according to an Employment Development Department news release. The state also added 17,700 jobs in May.
California does not, however, have the highest rate in the country, with Washington, D.C. coming in at 5.9%
The state with the lowest unemployment rate as of June is South Dakota at 1.8%.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: California average hourly pay amongst highest in the county