Los Angeles paycheck calculator (2026)
LA workers pay California state income tax, not a separate LA income tax. LA City minimum wage 2026: $17.28/hr per the Office of Wage Standards. HUD FMR one-bedroom: $2,160/month. LA Metro commuter benefit: $325/month transit + $325/month parking, pre-tax federal + California.
Tax outcomes depend on your specific situation. This page summarises 2026 published guidance from the LA Office of Wage Standards, the California DIR, the California FTB, the HUD Fair Market Rent tables, and the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Consult a CPA about your circumstances.
How LA paychecks differ from California-wide paychecks
From a tax-mechanics perspective, an LA paycheck looks identical to a paycheck anywhere else in California. There is no Los Angeles city income tax. Federal income tax, California state income tax (1%-13.3% per FTB brackets), Social Security, Medicare, and SDI all apply at the same rates as in any other California city. The differences appear in three places. First, the Los Angeles city minimum wage of $17.28/hour in 2026 is higher than the California statewide $16.50, set by the Office of Wage Standards under the LA Municipal Code. This affects only the wage floor; workers paid above the LA minimum see no LA-specific impact on their paycheck. Second, certain LA County cities (Pasadena $17.50, Santa Monica $17.27, West Hollywood $19.08) have their own city minimum wages applicable when work is performed within those city boundaries.
Third, LA's housing costs are meaningfully higher than the California average outside coastal metros, which dominates the cost-of-living calculation rather than the tax calculation. Per HUD's Fair Market Rent FY 2026 schedule (published October 2025), one-bedroom FMR in Los Angeles County is approximately $2,160/month and two-bedroom is approximately $2,795. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics shows the LA-Long Beach-Anaheim MSA median wage across all occupations at approximately $58,000 a year. The per-zip-code variation within LA is substantial: a worker in Beverly Hills, Westwood, or Manhattan Beach pays the same state and federal taxes as a worker in Boyle Heights or Sun Valley, but their take-home stretches very differently.
LA take-home table by salary band
The table below shows annual and biweekly take-home for a single filer earning each salary level in Los Angeles in 2026. Salary brackets begin at $40,000 (close to the LA-MSA 25th percentile per BLS) and run to $150,000 (well above LA-MSA median of $58,000 and into the upper professional wages band). Each row uses California state income tax, federal income tax, FICA, and SDI applicable statewide. There is no LA-specific income tax addition.
| Annual gross | Federal tax | CA state tax | Annual take-home | Biweekly net | ETR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,762 | $774 | $32,964 | $1,268 | 17.6% |
| $50,000 | $3,962 | $1,265 | $40,398 | $1,554 | 19.2% |
| $60,000 | $5,162 | $1,865 | $47,723 | $1,836 | 20.5% |
| $75,000 | $8,114 | $3,044 | $57,279 | $2,203 | 23.6% |
| $100,000 | $13,614 | $5,359 | $72,277 | $2,780 | 27.7% |
| $125,000 | $19,247 | $7,684 | $87,132 | $3,351 | 30.3% |
| $150,000 | $25,247 | $10,009 | $101,619 | $3,908 | 32.3% |
Cost of living: what each take-home buys in LA
A worker earning $50,000 in LA takes home approximately $40,398 a year, or about $3,367 a month. The HUD FY 2026 one-bedroom FMR in LA County of $2,160/month consumes roughly 62% of this take-home, well above the 30% conventional affordability threshold. At $75,000 gross / $57,279 annual take-home / about $4,773/month, the same one-bedroom is approximately 45% of monthly take-home. At $100,000 gross with annual take-home of about $72,277 / $6,023/month, the FMR one-bedroom is approximately 36%. Workers needing to keep housing under the 30% threshold while renting at LA County FMR need approximately $86,400 in gross annual income for a one-bedroom or $112,000 for a two-bedroom.
Real LA market rents frequently exceed FMR. The HUD FMR represents approximately the 40th percentile of the rent distribution; landlords in popular West LA neighborhoods (Santa Monica, Venice, Westwood, Brentwood) routinely charge 30-50% above FMR. The LA Housing Department publishes annual rent stabilization summaries showing actual market rents by neighborhood. Workers with significant rent burden can reduce California taxable income via Section 125 health insurance premiums, FSA, and commuter benefits, none of which reduce rent directly but improve the gross-to-net cushion. Strategies for reducing California state tax: increase take-home pay page.
LA Metro pre-tax commuter benefit
One LA-specific pre-tax benefit worth knowing: the IRC 132 commuter benefit. Federal law allows employees to set aside up to $325/month in 2026 for transit (LA Metro monthly pass, Metrolink monthly pass, vanpool fares, paratransit) and up to $325/month for parking, both pre-tax. The deduction reduces both federal and California taxable income. The annual maximum if both transit and parking are maxed: $7,800. At a single 22% federal + 9.3% California marginal rate, the combined annual tax saving is approximately $2,440. Many large LA-area employers (LA County, USC, UCLA, the major studios, large law firms) offer the benefit through their payroll system; check with HR.
LA Metro publishes detailed employer outreach materials and a commuter benefit toolkit at metro.net. The benefit must be administered through the employer's payroll system to qualify for pre-tax treatment; workers cannot claim a deduction on their personal tax return for transit or parking they pay out-of-pocket. Workers without employer-sponsored commuter benefits should ask HR whether the program can be added; the administrative cost to the employer is minimal. LA Metro and Foothill Transit both administer comprehensive employer programs.
Compare LA with other California metros
Los Angeles paycheck, common questions
LA paycheck calculations on this page reflect 2026 published rates from the California FTB, IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-28, the LA Office of Wage Standards, and HUD Fair Market Rent FY 2026. There is no Los Angeles city income tax; California state income tax applies. Pre-tax commuter benefit limits are set by IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-28. Consult a CPA about your circumstances.