California fast-food restaurant prices, already higher than average in the U.S., have gotten more expensive.
Starting this month, a new California law required large fast-food chains to pay their employees $20 an hour, 25% higher than the state’s broader minimum wage. The state last September backed a deal for the increased wages.
McDonald’s, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Jack in the Box and other restaurant chains have said they would raise menu prices in California to offset some of the cost.
Many operators didn’t wait long. Fast-food and fast-casual restaurant price figures from 70 large chains analyzed the week of April 11 by market-research firm Datassential found that:
Every month since October, California limited-service restaurants—meaning both fast food and fast casual—have bumped up a greater percentage of the prices on their menus compared to the rest of the country. In December, California eateries increased prices on nearly a quarter of their menu items, about 10% more than the national average.
In March, state fast-food and fast-casual restaurants pushed up 16.5% of their menu prices.
While California fast-food restaurants raised prices across a bigger portion of their menus, the amount that prices increased was overall roughly in line with other states. California restaurants last month raised prices by 6.8%, while the national average came in at 6.7%.
Restaurants in the northeastern portion of California, like Humboldt County, have raised their prices the most since last September, followed by Riverside County in the southern part of the state.