Sonoma County Supervisors have approved a .45 cent raise to the county’s living wage. 

The hourly living wage on Tuesday was raised 2.8 percent, from $17.65 an hour to $18.10.  

The raise matches the inflation rate measured in October by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index, according to the county.  

The wage affects workers employed directly by county government, or any workers in private companies or nonprofits that contract with the County of Sonoma.  

The new rate kicks in on Jan. 1, 2024. Employers with existing contracts and transactions have until July 1.  

A living wage ordinance was first adopted by the county in 2016.  

California’s minimum wage increases to $16 on Jan. 1 as well.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.