DENVER (KDVR) — Denver’s minimum wage is set to increase in January, with some minimum wage workers getting an increase to nearly $20 an hour.
The minimum wage in Denver has increased every year since the Denver Revised Municipal Code Chapter §58-16 was created in 2019, where a local minimum wage for Denver was set with required annual adjustments based on annual adjustments on the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers.
Why are local restaurants closing? Some owners cite Denver’s rising minimum wage
Denver has been slowly increasing the minimum wage ever since. In 2022, the minimum wage was at $15.87. It increased to $17.29 in 2023, $18.29 in 2024, and now, the minimum wage in Denver is $18.81 per hour in 2025 — and that’s about to increase.
What’s Denver’s minimum wage in 2026?
Starting on Jan. 1, 2026, minimum wage will increase to $19.29, with tipped minimum workers earning $16.27 per hour.
This minimum is much higher than Colorado’s, which is at $14.81 in 2025, and will increase to $15.16 in 2026.
These Colorado laws go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026
Denver’s minimum wage is not just higher than in Colorado. In 2023, Denver had one of the nation’s highest statutory minimum wages and the highest real minimum wage, and one of the highest in the nation in 2024…