Colorado Minimum Wage 2026
The minimum wage in Colorado is $15.16 per hour in 2026, effective January 1, 2026. Tipped employees can be paid a cash wage of $12.14 per hour, as long as tips bring them to the full minimum.
What is the minimum wage in Colorado in 2026?
The Colorado minimum wage is $15.16 per hour as of January 1, 2026, up from $14.81 in 2025. Colorado's constitution requires an annual inflation adjustment every January, announced by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment each fall.
Colorado is also one of the few states where cities can set their own, higher minimum wages. Denver's local rate is several dollars above the state minimum, so multi-location employers need to track rates by work location, not just by state.
Tipped minimum wage in Colorado
The tipped minimum wage in Colorado is $12.14 per hour in 2026. Colorado allows a fixed tip credit of $3.02, so the tipped cash wage always sits exactly $3.02 below the full minimum.
Tips must bring each tipped employee to at least $15.16 per hour (or the applicable higher local minimum). In Denver, the same $3.02 credit applies against the city's higher rate, so the tipped cash wage there is higher too.
Colorado minimum wage history: 2020 to 2026
| Year | Minimum wage | Tipped wage |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $12.00 | $8.98 |
| 2021 | $12.32 | $9.30 |
| 2022 | $12.56 | $9.54 |
| 2023 | $13.65 | $10.63 |
| 2024 | $14.42 | $11.40 |
| 2025 | $14.81 | $11.79 |
| 2026 | $15.16 | $12.14 |
Upcoming minimum wage increases in Colorado
Colorado adjusts its minimum wage every January 1 based on inflation, so a further increase in 2027 is effectively guaranteed. The new rate is announced each fall.
Local rates move on the same January cycle. Denver's ordinance also adjusts annually for inflation, and other jurisdictions that have adopted local minimums under Colorado's 2019 local wage law follow their own published schedules.
Minimum wage by city in Colorado
Colorado allows local governments to set higher minimum wages, and several have. Denver has the most prominent local rate, at $19.29 per hour in 2026, with a tipped rate of $16.27 after the $3.02 credit.
Boulder, Edgewater, and unincorporated Boulder County have also adopted local minimums above the state rate. If you hire hourly workers across the Front Range, confirm each work site's applicable rate every January; paying the state rate at a Denver site is a compliance violation.
Local ordinance; adjusts each January
Local minimum above state rate; check the city's current figure
Local minimum above state rate; check the city's current figure
State rate applies
What Colorado employers need to know
Location-based rates
Apply the minimum wage of the location where work is performed. An employee splitting time between Denver and a suburb may be owed different rates for different hours.
Overtime and COMPS Order
Colorado's COMPS Order requires overtime after 40 hours per week, 12 hours per day, or 12 consecutive hours, whichever gives the employee more.
Tipped employees
The tip credit is fixed at $3.02 against the applicable minimum (state or local). Keep tip records per location and top up shortfalls.
Posting and records
Post the current COMPS Order poster and any applicable local wage notices, and keep detailed time records including daily hours for overtime compliance.
How other states compare
See how Colorado's $15.16 rate stacks up against other state minimum wages in 2026, or browse the full minimum wage index for all 50 states.
Last verified:
Sources: the US Department of Labor's state minimum wage table and official announcements from the Colorado labor department. Minimum wage laws change frequently; confirm current rates with those sources or legal counsel before setting pay.
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