Denver minimum wage 2026
The minimum wage in Denver is $19.29 an hour in 2026, $4.13 above the Colorado rate of $15.16. It rises to $19.84 on January 1, 2027. Denver sets its own wage under a 2019 city ordinance and resets it every January 1 for local inflation, using a price index for wage earners in the Denver area. Food and beverage is the only industry where tips may count toward the wage, and only up to $3.02 an hour in 2026 and 2027.
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At a glance
| Minimum wage now | $19.29 an hour, since January 1, 202613 |
|---|---|
| Next change | $19.84 on January 1, 2027 (announced)12 |
| Tipped employees | $16.27 cash wage, tip credit up to $3.0212 |
| Full-time pay | $772 a week, $40,123 a year at 40 hours a week before taxes · calculate for your hours |
| Enforced by | Denver Labor, 720-913-9243 |
What to know about the Denver minimum wage
Denver could only set its own wage after Colorado lifted its ban on local minimum wages with HB19-1210 in 2019. City Council adopted the ordinance in November 2019 (Denver Revised Municipal Code section 58-16), and the wage started at $12.85 on January 1, 2020, and reached $15.87 in 2022.32 The ordinance ties later increases to inflation, which is why the yearly steps vary: $1.42 for 2023, $1.00 for 2024, $0.52 for 2025 and $0.48 for 2026.3
The January 1, 2027 increase to $19.84 reflects a 2.86% rise in the CPI-W for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood. To be ready for January, the Department of Finance compares the first half of 2026 with the first half of 2025 instead of waiting for full-year figures, the same approach the state uses.2 The city also points employers near its borders to its address finder, since only work done inside Denver is covered.
Denver Labor, a division of the Denver Auditor's Office, enforces the wage. Workers can complain anonymously online, by email to [email protected] or by calling 720-913-WAGE.1 Civil penalties for wage theft can reach $25,000 per incident, and retaliation carries a $5,000 fine. In one case the office recovered $70,010.71 for 44 restaurant workers.1
Food and beverage tipped workers get a cash wage $3.02 below the city rate in 2026 and 2027. That gap has stayed fixed while the standard rate rose, so the tipped cash wage has gone up by the same dollar amount each year.2
All 2026 rates
Most workers in Denver get the standard city rate. The second rate in the table is a cash wage for tipped food and beverage workers: the employer may pay $3.02 less than the standard rate in 2026 and 2027 only if the worker's actual tips make up at least that amount. Tipped workers in any other industry must get the full standard rate.
| Rate | Applies to | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Standard city rate | All employees working in Denver, any employer size$19.84 from January 1, 202712 | $19.2913 |
| Tipped food and beverage cash wage | Food and beverage workers whose tips are at least $3.02 an hour$16.82 from January 1, 20272 | $16.2713 |
| Minors in a city-certified youth employment program | Unemancipated minors working through a youth employment program certified by the city may be paid 15% less than the Denver minimum wage. Other workers under 18 get the full rate. | See rule13 |
Compared with Colorado
When a local minimum wage, the state minimum wage and the federal minimum wage differ, the employer must pay the highest one that applies to the work. For most covered work in Denver, that is the local rate.
| Minimum wage | Next change | Per hour now |
|---|---|---|
| Denver | $19.84 on January 1, 2027 | $19.29 |
| Colorado (state) | $15.71 on January 1, 2027 | $15.16 |
| Federal | None scheduled | $7.25 |
Tipped employees
| Tip credit | Allowed |
|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $16.27 an hour12 |
| Maximum tip credit | $3.02 an hour |
Only food and beverage employers may take a tip credit, capped at $3.02 an hour, so the cash wage is $16.27 from January 1, 2026 and $16.82 from January 1, 2027. Denver Labor can demand proof of tips during an investigation.
An employer that takes a tip credit must make up the difference whenever wages plus tips fall short of the full minimum wage for the workweek. See the tipped minimum wage guide.
How the rate changes
The rate rises every January 1 by the change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, comparing the first half of the year with the first half of the year before. The Department of Finance calculates it and announces it in late summer; the 2.86% increase for January 1, 2027 was announced on August 6, 2026.
The tip credit stays at $3.02 in 2027.
Rate history
Who is covered
Anyone who works at least 4 hours a week inside the City and County of Denver is covered, whatever the size of the employer and wherever it is based. Work done outside the city and time spent only driving through Denver do not count.
- Minors in a city-certified youth employment program may be paid 15% less than the city rate; the reduction does not apply to other teenage workers.
- Employers must give workers ready access to the bilingual Denver wage notice and keep payroll records for at least three years.
- Colorado's statewide minimum for 2026 is $15.16 ($12.14 for tipped workers), so the Denver rate is $4.13 higher.
Other local rates in Colorado
- Edgewater$18.17
- Boulder$16.82
- Boulder County (unincorporated areas)$16.82
Everywhere else in Colorado, the state rate applies.
Get help or file a claim
If you are paid less than the minimum wage that applies to your job, you can file a wage claim with the agency below. Federal law prohibits firing or otherwise retaliating against a worker for complaining about federal minimum wage rights.
| Agency | Denver Labor |
|---|---|
| Phone | 720-913-9243 |
| The law | Denver Revised Municipal Code, Sections 58-16 to 58-18 (citywide minimum wage, adopted by City Council November 2019); C.R.S. 29-1-1401 and 8-6-101 (HB19-1210, state authorization of local minimum wages) |
| Federal | U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243 |
Sources
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Is a rate wrong or out of date? Report an error