Current Minimum Wage
Boulder County (unincorporated areas)$16.82since January 1, 2026

County (unincorporated areas) · Colorado

Boulder County (unincorporated areas) minimum wage

$16.82 an hour as of September 2, 2026. The Colorado state rate is $15.16.

  • The Boulder County (unincorporated areas) minimum wage is $16.82 an hour, effective .
  • That is $1.66 above the Colorado state rate of $15.16 and $9.57 above the federal $7.25.
  • 2 tiers apply: all employers $16.82; food and beverage workers who receive tips (cash wage after $3.02 tip offset) $13.80.
  • The next change is : an indexed adjustment, amount to be announced.
  • Coverage: Employees performing 4+ hours of work per week in unincorporated Boulder County (excludes Boulder, Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette, Erie, Superior, Lyons, Nederland, Ward, Jamestown).

Rates and tiers

TierRateSince
all employers$16.82
food and beverage workers who receive tips (cash wage after $3.02 tip offset)$13.80

Indexing

Yes
CPI, all items, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood (August release) adjusts 01-01 announced Boulder County Board of County Commissioners

Tipped

$13.80
Ordinance 2025-001 sec. III(3): no more than $3.02/hr in tips may offset the wage for food and beverage workers. Colorado allows a tip credit of no more than $3.02/hr for food and beverage workers...

Ordinance

Boulder County Ordinance 2025-001 (adopted 2025-11-20), amending Ordinance 2023-004; authority C.R.S. 8-6-101 et seq....
Ordinance text · Boulder County Commissioners' Office (enforcement via CDLE)

Scheduled increases

January 1, 20271 jurisdiction
CountyTBA
Boulder County (unincorporated areas), COall employers · ordinance · From 2027 the rate keeps pace with the year-over-year Denver-Aurora-Lakewood CPI (all items, published each August).
TBAindexed, amount to be announced

IMPORTANT: the original 2023 schedule ($17.99 for 2026, rising to $25 by 2030) was REPLACED by Ordinance 2025-001, which set 2026 at $16.82 and switched to CPI indexing from 2027. 2025 rate was $16.57.

Common questions

What is the Boulder County (unincorporated areas) minimum wage?

$16.82 an hour for all employers, effective January 1, 2026.

Is the Boulder County (unincorporated areas) minimum wage higher than the Colorado state minimum wage?

Yes, by $1.66: $16.82 versus $15.16.

When does the Boulder County (unincorporated areas) minimum wage change next?

On January 1, 2027, by an indexed amount to be announced.

Sources

  1. https://bouldercounty.gov/departments/commissioners/local-minimum-wage/ official
  2. https://assets.bouldercounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Ordinance-2025-1-Amending-Local-Minimum-Wage.pdf official
  3. https://assets.bouldercounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ordinance-2025-X_amending-local-minimum-wage-requirements.pdf official
  4. https://bouldercounty.gov/families/minimum-wage/ official
  5. https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/inventory-of-us-city-and-county-minimum-wage-ordinances/

Checked 2026-09-02; researcher confidence 0.93.