Current Minimum Wage
Colorado minimum wage$15.16since January 1, 2026

State minimum wage

Colorado minimum wage

$15.16 an hour as of September 2, 2026. Tipped cash wage $12.14. 4 local rates are higher.

  • The Colorado minimum wage is $15.16 an hour, set by state law effective .
  • The next change is on : an indexed adjustment, amount to be announced.
  • Tipped employees must be paid at least $12.14 in cash, with a tip credit of up to $3.02.
  • At $15.16 an hour, full-time work (2,080 hours) pays $31,533 a year before taxes.
  • 4 local rates in Colorado are higher than the state rate; the highest is $19.29 for Denver (City and County).

Tipped cash wage

$12.14
Tip credit up to $3.02

Youth / training

None
No sub-minimum youth or training rate found on the state page.

Next change

Indexed, TBA
· indexed-unannounced

Local rates

4 in effect
HB19-1210 (effective 2020-01-01) lets local governments set higher minimum wages (annual increases capped at the greater of $1.75 or 15%); Denver, Boulder, Boulder County and Edgewater have done so...

Local minimum wages in Colorado

Where a city or county rate is higher, it governs inside that jurisdiction.

Denver (City and County)$19.29since January 1, 2026Edgewater$18.17since January 1, 2026Boulder$16.82since January 1, 2026Boulder County (unincorporated areas)$16.82since January 1, 2026

Scheduled increases in Colorado

January 1, 20276 jurisdictions
StateTBA
Coloradoindexed-unannounced · Annual cost-of-living adjustment under Colo. Const. art. XVIII sec. 15; CDLE publishes the new figure in its annual PAY CALC Order (typically...
TBAindexed, amount to be announced
City$18.17
Boulder (city), COall employers · ordinance · Ordinance 8664 schedule.
$18.17from $16.82 (+$1.35)
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)
City$19.99
Edgewater, COall employers · ordinance · Council-approved schedule (tipped $16.97).
$19.99from $18.17 (+$1.82)
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
January 1, 20282 jurisdictions
City$21.99
Edgewater, COall employers · ordinance · Council-approved schedule (tipped $18.97).
$21.99from $19.99 (+$2.00)
CityTBA
Boulder (city), COall employers · ordinance · Prior-year CPI-U (Denver-Aurora-Lakewood) increase applied annually from 2028.
TBAindexed, amount to be announced
January 1, 20291 jurisdiction
CityTBA
Edgewater, COall employers · announced · To be determined based on Denver's minimum wage (stated goal: equal Denver).
TBAindexed, amount to be announced

Coverage, exemptions, and history

Who is covered. all employers covered by the COMPS Order (no size tiers).

Tipped employees. No more than $3.02 per hour in tip income may be used to offset the minimum wage of employees who regularly receive tips (Colo. Const. art. XVIII sec. 15).

Indexing. Adjusted by Consumer Price Index used for Colorado (constitutional text) on January 1 ; announced CDLE PAY CALC Order, published in the fall....

Recent history. Indexed increase from $14.81 (2025) to $15.16 on 2026-01-01 (tipped $12.14).

CDLE site footer (fetched 2026-09-02): '2026 Minimum Wage $15.16 / Hour, $12.14 / Hour for tipped employees'.

Statute. Colo.

Common questions

What is the minimum wage in Colorado?

$15.16 an hour as of September 2, 2026, under state law effective January 1, 2026.

When does the Colorado minimum wage go up next?

On January 1, 2027, by an indexed amount the agency will announce.

What is the tipped minimum wage in Colorado?

$12.14 in cash plus tips; the employer must make up any shortfall to $15.16.

Do any cities in Colorado have a higher minimum wage?

Yes: Denver (City and County) $19.29, Edgewater $18.17, Boulder $16.82, Boulder County (unincorporated areas) $16.82.

Sources

  1. https://cdle.colorado.gov/laws-regulations-guidance official
  2. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state official
  3. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped official
  4. https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb19-1210 official
  5. https://www.bouldercounty.gov/families/minimum-wage/ official
  6. https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wages
  7. https://ballotpedia.org/Article_XVIII,_Colorado_Constitution
  8. https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/inventory-of-us-city-and-county-minimum-wage-ordinances/

Checked 2026-09-02 against Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division of Labor Standards and Statistics; researcher confidence 0.75.