Denver Local Minimum Wage Adjusts to $19.29 per Hour for 2026
Published on August 07, 2025
Annual Increase Less Than in 2024 and 2025
Denver, CO— The City and County of Denver’s local minimum wage will increase to $19.29 from $18.81 beginning on January 1, 2026. The minimum wage for tipped food and beverage workers will be $16.27 per hour, up from $15.79 per hour in 2025, provided they earn at least $3.02 in actual tips.
The Denver City Council created Denver Revised Municipal Code Chapter §58-16 in November 2019, which set the local minimum wage for Denver and requires annual adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). For 2026’s adjustment, the CPI-W for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area was 2.56%, less than the CPI-W of 2.84% for 2025 and 5.8% for 2024.
“Whether it's raising pay or lowering rent, we're committed to doing everything we can to make Denver more affordable,” said Mayor Mike Johnston. “Our minimum wage has created new opportunity for Denver residents, and we will continue to work towards commonsense solutions that ensure wages stay high, costs stay low, and businesses stay open.”
Denver’s local minimum wage is enforced by the Denver Labor Division of the Office of Denver Auditor Timothy O’Brien. Each year the offices of the Auditor, City Council, and the Mayor collaborate to educate and spread the word about the local minimum wage for the coming year to help employers plan and prepare.
"Denver leads the way with some of the strongest wage protections in the United States," Denver Auditor Timothy M. O'Brien, CPA, said. "We are committed to protecting the most vulnerable workers and ensuring both businesses and employees know the law."
More information about Denver’s minimum wage is available at DenverWages.org.
Background on the CPI Methodology Used to Calculate the Minimum Wage
Colorado state law requires that any local minimum wage changes take effect on January 1, the same date adjustments are made to the statewide minimum wage. In order to meet this deadline, a CPI calculation available mid-year of the year prior to the change in wage is required. Denver adopted the approach used by the State of Colorado, which compares the first half of the prior year to the first half of the current year to calculate an adjustment. To set the 2026 minimum wage, Denver’s Department of Finance compared the CPI-W for the first half of 2025 with CPI-W for the first half of 2024. The corresponding percentage change was applied to the 2025 wage of $18.81 per hour to calculate the new, CPI-W-adjusted wage of $19.29 per hour for 2026.
Considerations for Employers
Consistent with state law, Denver local minimum wage allows a reduced wage to be paid to tipped food and beverage workers. Employers in the food and beverage industry may claim up to $3.02 per hour for a tip credit, if they have documentation showing their employee received at least that amount in tips. If the full tip credit is applied, the minimum wage rate would be $16.27 per hour. The tip credit does not apply to workers in other industries, even if they sometimes receive tips.
Employers with locations near the border of the City and County of Denver
“Employers who are unsure whether or not to pay Denver's local minimum wage due to the workplace's mailing address should not make the wrong assumption. We encourage them to use the regional address finder on our website to check if work was performed within the boundaries of the City and County of Denver,” Auditor O’Brien said.
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Committed to being the best financially managed city and county in the nation, the Department of Finance (DOF) unifies the financial and accounting functions of the City and County of Denver and provides residents easy access to key financial data through Transparent Denver. DOF is divided into the Office of the CFO and seven divisions, including the Assessor’s Office, Controller’s Office, Budget and Management Office, Capital Planning and Real Estate, Cash and Capital Funding, Risk Management and Worker’s Compensation, and Treasury. For more information, visit Denvergov.org/finance.