Current Minimum Wage
Denver (City and County)$19.29since January 1, 2026↑ $19.84 on January 1, 2027

City · Colorado

Denver (City and County) minimum wage

$19.29 an hour as of September 2, 2026, rising to $19.84 on January 1, 2027. The Colorado state rate is $15.16.

  • The Denver (City and County) minimum wage is $19.29 an hour, effective .
  • That is $4.13 above the Colorado state rate of $15.16 and $12.04 above the federal $7.25.
  • 2 tiers apply: all employers $19.29; food and beverage workers who receive tips (cash wage after $3.02 tip credit) $16.27.
  • The next change is : $19.84.
  • Coverage: Anyone performing work in Denver for 4 or more hours in a week, regardless of employer location.

Rates and tiers

TierRateSince
all employers$19.29
food and beverage workers who receive tips (cash wage after $3.02 tip credit)$16.27

Indexing

Yes
CPI-W (Denver-Aurora-Lakewood), first half of year vs prior first half adjusts 01-01 announced Denver Labor (Auditor's Office) / Dept. of Finance,...

Tipped

$16.27
Colorado allows a tip credit of no more than $3.02/hr for food and beverage workers (Colo. Const. art. XVIII sec. 15); local ordinances use the same $3.02 offset.

Ordinance

Denver Revised Municipal Code secs. 58-16 to 58-18 (Citywide Minimum Wage, adopted Nov 2019)
Ordinance text · Denver Labor, Denver Auditor's Office (720-913-9243)

Scheduled increases

January 1, 20272 jurisdictions
City$19.84
Denver (City and County), COall employers · announced · Announced 2026-08-06 (CPI-W first-half 2026 vs first-half 2025, +2.86%).
$19.84from $19.29 (+$0.55)
City$16.82
Denver (City and County), COtipped food and beverage workers · announced · $19.84 less $3.02 tip credit.
$16.82from $19.29 (-$2.47)

2025 rate was $18.81. Colorado state 2026: $15.16 ($12.14 tipped) per CDLE site footer.

Common questions

What is the Denver (City and County) minimum wage?

$19.29 an hour for all employers, effective January 1, 2026.

Is the Denver (City and County) minimum wage higher than the Colorado state minimum wage?

Yes, by $4.13: $19.29 versus $15.16.

When does the Denver (City and County) minimum wage change next?

On January 1, 2027, to $19.84.

Sources

  1. https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Auditors-Office/Denver-Labor/Citywide-Minimum-Wage
  2. https://www.denvergov.org/News-articles/2026/Denver-Local-Minimum-Wage-Adjusts-to-19.84-per-Hour-for-2027
  3. https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Auditors-Office/Denver-Labor

Checked 2026-09-02; researcher confidence 0.97.